Realization
by SilverPedals1402
Summary: After a fight with his friends, Tony is kidnapped and when he's almost killed, he is forced to realize just how much he needs his friends and how much they need him. - Requested By PercyJacksonLover14
1. Chapter 1

**New story here, and trust me, this one is easy since i know for sure its only going to be a couple chapters. This was requested by PercyJacksonLover14 and i thought the idea sounded very interesting and fun to write, so YAY! I did it! So go on and give it a try, I swear you guys will love this one, if i can do this right. Which hopefully i will...**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything! IMAA is not mine and not even the idea was mine! That was PercyJacksonLover14's idea.  
**

"Dude, you can't keep shutting us out!" Rhodey shouted angrily.

Pepper nodded in agreement. "We're your friends, we deserve to know if somethings going on!"

"Guys I'm fine, stop shouting." Tony argued.

"One of these days, Tony! One of these days, you _wont _be okay!" Rhodey yelled slammed his palm on the table Tony was working on.

Tony jumped. "But I will, I always am."

Pepper rolled her eyes. "I don't want to lose you! Can't you see I worry about you!"

"I do, Pep, I do!" Tony said trying to reassure her.

"Then stop being so careless!" She practically shrieked.

Tony's eyes widened. He was for once, speechless. They were overreacting, he tried telling himself that, but a little voice in the back of his mind said that their reaction perfecting fits the situation.

"Why didn't you tell us!?" Rhodey asked breaking his thoughts.

"We _all _could have died!" Pepper shouted emphasizing on 'all'.

Tony looked down to his hands. "I can't tell you everything."

"And you couldn't tell us this...why?"

"I don't know!" Tony blurted.

Pepper threw her arms into the air. "You know what? I don't care. I don't! I won't stand here waiting for answers that I'll never get. You are going to get yourself killed and you want to know what else? Being this careless, you'll get us _all_ killed! And I don't want to be here when you do get yourself killed. So I'm just going to go."

She walked off not even looking back when she spoke as evenly as she could. "Goodbye Tony."

"Look at what you've done!" Rhodey said gesturing to the door where Pepper left off to. "One of your _only _friends, your _best _friend just walked out on you. She left."

"She'll calm down." Tony said trying to convince himself. "She always does."

"Cause you've never given her a reason not to calm down." Rhodey replied coldly. "But now? No. No she's not going to calm down for a while, and I won't be expecting me to either."

With that, Rhodey walked off without another word or glance. He left Tony alone to think about what he did. What Tony did, was left the fact that Ghost had returned. He'd returned angry because he never got the chance for blackmail. He never was able to use his identity against him. So he decided he'd use his friends to get revenge. Which really none of it was Tony's fault, but he knew Ghost was after his friends and he didn't warn his friends so when Ghost attacked them, they didn't know what to do. Especially when Ghost brought up revenge or his talks with Tony.

They were angry that Tony never said a word to them that their lives were in danger. Plus the fact that the moment they were done, there was a large percent that Ghost would've went straight to Tony and kill him.

Though Tony still though that they were overreacting. Shouldn't they be happy that he was protecting them? Was he not enough? Did they no longer trust him to protect them? Did they not believe that he would finish Ghost? He did, though. He beat Ghost and he was still alive. He didn't even need to see a doctor this time around.

He looked at the blueprints he happened to be working on when the two burst in infuriated. He wanted to get back to work on them, but he no longer had the heart to work. He no longer wanted to finish that project. With a hand shaking as it reached towards the papers, he roughly threw them off the table. He then pushed the table away from himself and kicked the fallen papers.

He couldn't help but pick them up and crumple them and rip them, and then throw them away. Then set the whole inside of the garbage can on fire. He watched with a face that was almost twisted in pain and anger.

He clenched his fists as he turned away from the dying flames. He wished his friends would understand why he didn't tell them, but then again, how could they understand if he didn't? Still they didn't have to shout at him then leave him. If they felt alone and left out then, imagine how he felt now. He felt alone. He felt so, very alone.

With a stressed sigh, he turned away and went to the door. Once he did, he took one last glance at the armory before shutting the lights out and locking up.

…

It was nearly 8 o'clock by the time Tony arrived home. He walked inside and could hear his dad messing around in the living room since there was the TV and some kind of clicking sound saying that he was tinkering around with something.

"Dad I'm-" He started to call out to let his dad know he was home, but a hand was over his mouth.

The instant he breathed in he realized it wasn't just a hand, but there was a rag with chloroform on it. He struggled all while getting a bit groggy from that little breath that he took. Though he tried to hold his breath until he was able to get it away from his mouth, but all he did was succeed in breaking a vase that was on the table in the opening of the house.

Soon enough, though, he had to breath in. And he hardly even remembered that he closed his eyes.

…

(With Howard at same moment.)

Howard was sitting down trying to finish he latest invention, when he heard his son's voice. "Dad I'm-"

But his voice was cut off. What on earth? He waited for a moment for his son to walk in to say hi, but he did. Though there was the sound of breaking glass. He stood up and slowly as if something was waiting for him, he made his way to the front door. Though, no one was there. Though what was there, was a broken vase and an open door.

"Tony?" He called out the door, but all he saw was what he normally saw. Cars passing by.

Though, he still could've sworn his son was home.

**So how was i? Did i get it right? I'm a bit worried on the fight in the beginning, cause i normally don't write them fighting...i just love them too much, but it was requested and i wasn't going to change the idea, no matter how bad i am at writing them when they fight...So other than that, i hope i did a good job on it. And don't worry, I am trying my best with this one for you PercyJacksonLover14. :) Thanks again for the idea!**


	2. Chapter 2

**So, i thought, since this was a requested story, i'd better update it soon :P So i did, and honestly i don't mind it. SO YAY! I've been careful to do this one right...but i have worries. but for now, i'll let you just continue reading the story, save my worries for the end note i guess...**

**Disclaimer: IMAA is NOT mine, nor will it ever be.  
**

Tony opened his eyes to see nothing. He couldn't see a thing! Nor could he really remember what the heck was going on, but that didn't matter. What did matter was that he couldn't see a thing. Did he go blind!? Was it night time? Where was the lights then? Maybe he _was _blind!

A sound that was only feet away, made him jump slightly. Maybe someone was there with him. Maybe they could help, but when he tried to speak, he couldn't find his voice. Did he lose that too? He was starting to panic when the noise got louder. What was it? Did it want to help him? Or was it going to hurt him? Was it even getting closer? Or just louder?

He forced himself to take a deep breath as some of his senses came back. No, he still couldn't see or talk, but he knew that he shouldn't be panicking. He should calm down. That was the rational thing to do. Once he was calm he could think and maybe he could find out where he was.

The first thing he noticed, was that it was _extremely _cold. Then he also realized part of that was because he had no shirt on. _Great, _he thought to himself, _just great. _ Now he started to realized that there were more of those sounds all around the room. It sounded like machinery as it ran and as if there was electric shocks going throughout the room. Maybe they were...

He then found out that his arms and legs were pretty much useless. They seemed to be tied up, but he was so cold, he could hardly tell if they were in front or behind him. Or maybe above him? Or none of the above? He honestly couldn't tell.

He was starting to forget about his own words about staying calm. How could he? He was freezing with no shirt on, tied up, he might have gone blind, and he couldn't talk to get help. He couldn't really move, and really he had lost all of his senses other than hearing and smell, and right now, it smelt like a mixture of oil and burning wood.

There was a loud booming sound and it first got closer and louder, before it got farther and quieter. He could tell it was the lights, and was glad that he hadn't gone blind, but now realizing he had a very dark, thick, and tight blindfold on. Too bad he couldn't talk, then he'd be asking so many questions that would put Pepper and her curiosity to shame.

There was another sound that he instantly identified it as a door opening then closing. Then the footsteps. He could feel his breath shudder in then out. He could literally feel his heartbeat in his chest. Who was it?

His mind was so clouded at the moment it wasn't even funny. He wasn't thinking straight. Though, as the footsteps got closer, he started to remember what had happened. He was walking home from somewhere. His lab? Rhodey's house? When he got home, he was attacked or whatever. Then he couldn't remember anything other than waking up where ever it was was that here was.

"Have a nice nap, Stark?" A raspy voice asked.

The voice was so familiar. Just the voice alone made his blood boil. Whoever it was, he knew he didn't like him. In fact, he'd probably say he hated the guy. Whoever it the guy was. And he wanted to answer him so bad. He wanted to shout mean things that shouldn't be said in the first place. But unfortunately, he couldn't speak. That guy is lucky.

"You know," The same voice started. "I was wondering when you would wake up. It's been...a while."

…

Pepper slapped the top of her alarm clock. She did not want to go to school. She didn't want to see Tony. She just needed a break from him. A big long break. She was beyond angry with him, and she wasn't going to forgive him just because he comes to school begging her to.

She forced herself to get out of bed so she could change and get ready for school. Once she did she made sure she ate breakfast before she walked out the door. Normally she'd meet up with Tony and Rhodey, but that was not happening. Not today.

Once she got to school she didn't even see Tony. She saw Rhodey, but she didn't even bother to ask if Tony came to school at all. Neither of them bothered to bring up Tony, because they both knew it was just a subject, they'd start ranting about 24/7 and they'd never calm down. Once half the day passed they realized Tony must have skipped school again. Or he's just doing iron man business, either way, they didn't really care. They both need their space from Tony and that included worrying for him.

"So what are you going to do later?" Rhodey asked as they walked home.

"I don't know," Pepper said shrugging. "I guess I'm normally with Tony at the armory at this point..."

"Me too." Rhodey said. "I just figured I'd just study since now, I actually will have the free time to."

"I should too."

Rhodey's phone started to ring and when he answered it, Pepper paid no attention to him. She was having her own mental war at the time and didn't need to snoop in on Rhodey's conversation. For all she knew, it was Tony calling for their forgiveness. That or he just assumed they got over it and were coming over...that got her all mad again.

Great, now she was getting more angry with Tony. She really didn't want to be there when he got himself killed. She really didn't need to feel that pain. It wasn't something she needed. She had enough problems at home with her not seeing her dad enough, or her mom.

She shook her head. She really needed to get some time alone to think some of these things out. Otherwise she'd most likely go crazy. And that wasn't something that was on the top of her list.

A hand on her shoulder stopped her. "Pepper."

"Rhodey? Whats going on?" She asked turning to Rhodey who looked worried.

"That was Howard and he-"

"Howard!?" Pepper blurted.

"Yeah, and he was calling to ask if we've seen Tony." Rhodey said. "Apparently Tony never returned home last night."

"What?" Pepper said her anger subsiding a bit.

"Well, he did and he didn't..." Rhodey started unsure. "According to Howard Tony came home, but never made it past the front door."

"So what does that mean?"

"I don't know, but when I told him that we hadn't, he asked for us to come over. Which I'm surprised he's not at work."

"So we going?" Pepper asked.

Rhodey nodded and together they made their way through the streets to Tony's house.

…

"So what happened?" Rhodey asked.

"I'm not sure..." Howard said. "Last night I was working on something and I heard Tony come in, he called, but he was cut off by something."

"Do you know what?"

"No. But when I went to go check it out, he wasn't there and a vase was broken. I'm worried that he was kidnapped."

"Ghost." Pepper muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Howard asked.

Pepper looked up. "Oh, just nothing."

"Okay..."

"His phone!" Rhodey said. "We can locate his phone at the armory!"

"Right!"

Rhodey had no clue what was going on, or if Tony even had his phone. For all he knew, it was dead. And you can't necessarily track a dead phone. But Rhodey was worried. Especially if this meant that Tony was in danger and the last thing they did was fight. Hopefully it wasn't a life or death situation and it was just a ransom kidnapping. If this was a kidnapping.

Pepper again was having a mental war inside of herself. Specifically on their fight the previous night. She really wanted to get over it. Though she was just really upset that Tony didn't even bother to tell them that their lives were in danger. What if they got hurt because of the lack of knowledge? Not only could they be dead, but Tony would never forgive himself. It wasn't something Pepper wanted for him. He'd never move on. And it still just infuriated her that he didn't trust his friends enough to tell them. It wasn't like they were going to be mad at him. It was as if he thought they'd get mad at him if he told them.

"Pepper you coming?" Rhodey called.

She looked over to the two who were already heading out the door. "Oh, yeah, coming."

…

Tony shivered and he was started to wish he had his senses again. He definitely wished he had his sight, but a blindfold made sure that he didn't. Having a voice would've been nice too, but for some reason he couldn't.

"I've noticed you're not as talkative as I remember." The voice said again. "It must be too cold for you to talk."

Tony actually suspected that was why he couldn't talk. It was just to cold for him to do just that. It _was _so cold in the room that he couldn't feel his fingers or feet, let alone his arms.

"It has to this cold you see." The raspy voice continued. "Other wise, it'd be to warm to do what needs to be done."

Tony tried to figure out who it was that sounded so familiar. He knew the voice, and even the way the person spoke, was so familiar. Like he knew who it was, but he just couldn't remember the name. Or he just couldn't place who.

"You must be confused. I can tell that your thinking of something. Are you wondering how you will escape? Are you wondering who I am? Are you wondering where you're at?"

Then it clicked. He knew exactly who it was. He focused as much as he could on his voice and breathed in before trying to speak. "G-g-gho"

"Oh so you can talk?"

Tony stopped trying to speak. It was pretty much pointless. He wasn't even able to get any more than one syllable out. It was better to shut up than to make a fool of himself just trying to talk. He just sat there waiting for something to happen. But knowing who this was he was dealing with, well, anything was possible. It was a bit painful just thinking of what Ghost might be planning. He just hoped he was thinking wrong.

He flinched when he heard a ringing sound and realized it was just a phone ringing. Really after waking up in this place, he seemed a bit jumpy. It didn't help that he was freezing cold and he couldn't really feel anything, let alone speak.

"Must have wasted more time than I thought." Ghost said. "It's your lucky day, kid."

Tony listened as the footsteps walked farther away, before they stopped. "But then again, if it was, you wouldn't be here then would you?"

Then he left for real this time. Shutting off the lights as he did so. Leaving Tony to his thoughts. And his mind, as always, went straight to Pepper and Rhodey. No matter how long he was out, it must have been a long time, since he was still trying to clear his not so clear mind. He started to wonder if they noticed he was missing. Or if they even cared. They didn't seem to care that he might die one of these days. He remembered Pepper's words.

"_Being this careless, you'll get us all killed! And I don't want to be here when you do get yourself killed."_

He was being careless, wasn't he? She was right. Maybe he would get them all killed. She didn't want to see him die, but then again, who does? Well, actually he could make up a whole list of people who do, but that wasn't important. Though, was it really something to leave him for. Maybe he didn't matter. Maybe they weren't as close as he thought. Sure, it might be fun for a while to have a genius superhero as your best friend, but hasn't he just proved that even they can get boring? That sometimes they aren't needed as much as they think?

He shook his head. Now wasn't the best time to be doubting himself. He needed to escape, but then again, how? He was tied to a chair, and a key component to getting untied is to knowing how their tied. But he couldn't even see, let alone tell where his hands were tied up. Though as his mind cleared a bit, he realized that they weren't tied above, him, which could be good. It definitely didn't put as much strain on the shoulders...but that wasn't what mattered.

He tried shaking his head as fast and hard as possible to possible shake the blindfold off. It didn't really work, but it did get a bit looser, but too bad it didn't fall right off. So he tried rubbing the side of his head against his shoulder, and sure enough, it helped. Of course, he couldn't get the blindfold itself to come off, but at least now he could see.

There was a total of two windows, that he could see. Each giving out just a bit of light, at lease it was daytime. All around him were different machines running. They all seemed to be powering up something, and from how he remembered the lights turning on, it could be a possibility it was that.

There was a fireplace nearby, but not too close, so he never got an ounce of heat from all those burning flames. And he was really curious to why it was so cold. It wasn't summer, no, but it definitely wasn't winter. Ghost had mentioned something of why it was so cold. He didn't really care at the moment though. Right now, he had to figure out how to escape before Ghost could return.

Then he had to start thinking from the dark side of his mind, the side he naturally and normally would ignore, but it was just so loud at the moment. Part of him continued to think of what he was escaping to. No, not from, but to. Part of him, believed that it might not be the most exciting of things to escape to. He would be alone. He wouldn't go to find his friends relieved that he was okay. He would return, he would escape, but only to find that they hadn't noticed he was gone, or they were just surprised that he hadn't killed himself.

Oh, how he wanted to slap himself for even thinking such things. Of course they cared. His dad would have found out already. His dad would have told his friends. They would be looking for a way to save him. Just because they had a fight, it doesn't mean that they want him to die. Right?

He twisted and turned his wrists, trying to undo them. They didn't even budge. He was able to see that they were tied behind a chair that he was sitting in. And speaking of his eye sight, he also happened to see multiple tables against the wall nearest to him, but he couldn't' quite make out if there was anything on the tables. It was just a bit to dark.

For a moment, he started to wonder when it was that Ghost would return, but he didn't even have the time to worry. Only because Ghost had come already with three familiar suited men of the Maggia.

The four of them made their way through the dark. One of them was carrying something. The others, at lease seemed to be empty handed. As they got closer he started to realize that it was getting warmer. Then as they reached him, from all the way across the large warehouse looking place, the lights around them turned on, leaving most of the room and its machines in the dark.

"I hope you don't mind, but I have company," Ghost said. "And please, Stark, enjoy the portable heater I have brought you. I wouldn't want you to be uncomfortable."

Tony glared the best he could, but secretly he was just enjoying the heat, because the cold was starting to get to him. He would never admit that he was glad that they brought that heater. Though, he never really admitted to anything.

"And just know something, I will get what I want, and if I don't, I'll make sure you regret not listening to me."

Tony could just hear the smirk on the masked villain's face as he chuckled darkly. Tony could just tell that Ghost had a back up plan for what ever it was that he was planning in the first place. And Tony couldn't shake the feeling that it was going to be horrible.

**I think this chapter should be find, but like i said i have my worries. Especially since this type of story the whole kidnapping, (in this sort of way...) is a bit off from my other stories, i know your probably like, No, this isn't unlike your other stories, but i think you'll notice it more in the next chapter. I know i'm going to see it. I just think its a bit out of my normal comfort zone to write, BUT i'm starting to like it, so NO WORRIES of me quitting! AND PercyJacksonLover14, you better not feel bad (You probably don't...i'm just guessing...) cause i'm trying my best for you. AND I made a LONG chapter for you! ^.0 Just like you wanted! So, was it long enough, cause I'm planning on having longer chapters. **

**Well, thats it for my worries, but hey, you know, we all have them...So while your still here and reading this, you might as well learn something about me. Heres a like Fun fact about me: _I have an unnatural fear of bathrooms...Yep, you heard me. BATHROOMS. Especially the ones at other peoples houses. And yes, i have a reason..._  
**

**So there you have it. One of my many fears, and a pretty good chapter to this story...:) So be happy and keep on reading and REVIEW! :)  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Well, here's the next chapter, and i have some good and some bad news...relating to the story. I'll start with the bad. (which can be good if you think about it...) The bad news is that I didn't get to the point i wanted to in this story, my mind sorta went crazy and got all these crazy ideas to add to the story...so this story might be longer than i originally said. (Again possibly its good news) And the good news, is that, I've got some kick butt ideas for future chapters! I'm real excited to get to writing them! Well, enjoy the LONG chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Same as last time. IMAA is NOT mine, nor will it ever be. If i did, i wouldn't be here.  
**

It wasn't the most fastest way to find Tony, but it was only way that they could be certain that they would find him. The whole process was exhausting and if they didn't have Howard with them, they'd probably take weeks just getting to the searching part. Howard was quick to get the signal search ready and going. Now all they had to do was wait and see if the phone was even charged or on.

"What if he's hurt?" Pepper asked as she paced.

Rhodey who was sitting next to Howard on the couch they had placed in the armory not too long ago, sighed. "Pepper, he'll be fine. It's Tony."

"Yeah, I'm just worried." She responded. "He left his backpack behind."

"He always does that now that he has Extremis." Rhodey said to assure his friend.

"Then why hasn't he called it to help?"

"Maybe he's still passed out." Howard suggested.

Pepper stopped in her tracks. "Then he's hurt? They knocked him out so hard that he hasn't even woken up since last night!? It's been almost a whole day since then! What if- what if they killed him!?"

Rhodey stood up and placed his hands on her shoulder. "Pepper, I know you're worried, but trust me. Tony will be fine. If anyone can escape easily from a villain it's Tony. And I'm sure he has a plan for his armor."

"Rhodey's right." Howard said standing next to the others. "Tony is a genius, a hero, and most of all, he's my son. He will be fine."

Pepper looked down. "I guess...I just wish that search will hurry it up."

As if on cue, there was a ding, and they looked to the screen. Pepper almost smiled. _Almost _being a key word.

"It found something!" Howard said wondering over to the screen.

Pepper on the other hand stood where she was. She was still thinking about her fight with Tony. She felt horrible for what she did. Sure, he deserved it and she wouldn't take back what she said. He deserved that much, but she still felt horrible because she knew what it felt like to be left behind and alone. Of course she did. It was how she felt all those years in middle school before she met Rhodey and most definitely before she met Tony. That was when her old friends abandon her because she didn't want to go to some stupid party that had alcohol. She remembered them telling her that she was a wuss because it was their last day as a middle school. That was a long story...

Either way, she figured that the two of them leaving him behind, he must have felt pretty awful. He must have felt alone. She looked away from Rhodey's worried eyes. To see something on the floor. It wasn't really anything she wasn't used to seeing, it was blueprint paper. She picked it up. It was a very ripped up piece of blueprint paper, but still. She saw a few others and she started to recognize the writing on them. It was the new invention Tony was working on.

If she didn't feel bad before, imagine how she felt now. It just doubled – no – tripled. She realized not only was this the same thing he was working on last night, but the months before that and it was the same project that he'd been working on since the latest upgrade to the iron man armor, which was a while back, and he was so excited to finish it and get a prototype that would work this time. He was so excited to show it to his dad.

Now, because they had left him, they had caused him to give up on the project and totally destroy it. He ripped it to pieces so it cannot even be fixed. And she even noticed the garbage can with ashes in it. Not only had he ripped it to pieces, he tried to burn every piece of it.

"Pepper you okay? What's that?" Rhodey asked.

"The blueprints for the project he's been working on..." She said.

"Oh..."

"You guys!" Howard's voice called. "Something wrong? I'm uploading the directions to this place."

They both looked over. "No everything's alright." Pepper said dropping the paper.

Howard eyed the falling paper he recognized enough to see that it was blueprints. "Am I missing something?"

"No just an argument we had with Tony last night." Rhodey said.

"It was bit more than an argument..." Pepper muttered under her breath, but Howard heard all the same.

"Did something happen?"

"Story for another time." Rhodey explained.

"How about on the way to this place?" Howard asked holding up his phone that had the directions on it.

The teens nodded and followed the genius out the door.

_I'm sorry Tony. _Pepper thought. _I didn't mean to go this far. _

…

Ghost never mentioned his lack of blindfold. He never tried to put it back on or yell at Tony for not listening. He didn't do anything really. HE just walked off out of the room leaving behind the three Maggia men.

He was really glad that there was that portable heater, because he was going crazy in that cold. Plus, he could feel his voice coming back. He could talk as soon as he adjusts to this new heat. Which should be soon enough saying that the heater seemed to be set on high. Though he was starting to think that there was a different reason for that heater being there.

He sighed. It was all part of Ghost's tricks. He may have known him for more of a straight forward type of guy, but it seemed that he was more than that. He loved his games. Since he seemed to be doing the whole good cop bad cop thing, only alone. At one moment you'd trust him to not hurt you and do things the easy way. Or easier. Then as soon as you think you have it good, he snaps and cuts any string of hope or trust that you would get out of there unharmed. So maybe the heater, was on way to trick his mind to thinking that all he needs to do is cooperate and then there would be no problem. Then the heater would be taken away and basically he would do anything to get the heater back.

That was all just a theory in Tony's head, but even so. It was a method he's seen in all those movies he watched with Rhodey and Pepper.

Just the thought of the two made his heart ache. If only they knew he was here. If only they knew a way to get him out of this. The only thing keeping him from escaping himself, was the cold, and a non-clear head. Which both issues seemed to be clearing up quicker than he thought. Though, he would have at least expected for his mind to clear up by now, but apparently what ever they did, which he was now pretty sure it was the work of chloroform, must have been pretty darn strong to keep him so out of it for so long.

After a while of doing nothing, he'd actually fallen asleep, not necessarily the best thing to do, when he expected to see Ghost at least sometime before the sun set. After all he probably had more business to attend to then his captive superhero. It's okay, he could just sit there for ever and starve! Maybe Ghost wanted him to rot in the cold. Maybe that was Ghost's true reason to trapping him there.

Not only was it cold, he was deprived of food and water. Though, he was smart enough not to bring up the topic of food and water to the Maggia men watching over him. Part of his mind knew that it was a bad idea. It would only remind them that there was a number of other ways to go out with this. Namely, torture, but so far, Tony didn't see any of that in his future...He just hoped that it wasn't in his future. Just because he didn't see it, it doesn't mean it won't.

He had woken up a few times, and it had actually gotten dark out. It wasn't all too surprising though. Though, he was getting more crazy by just the silence. At some point he had gotten his voice back, which was a bit sore from not talking for such a long time. Though, nothing he said got any response, so he shut his mouth not wanting to get himself into more trouble. For now, all he thought about was escape measures he could take.

Extremis! He suddenly felt the sudden urge to slap himself, which he's been wanting to that a lot lately since all his dark thoughts couldn't really be ignored when he's pretty much alone. The horrible thoughts that maybe he didn't need his friends. They abandon him, so why should he depend on them for help? They didn't care. They left him alone, which he'd never felt so alone. Even when he thought he'd lost his dad. But again, he wanted to slap himself.

Thinking back to Extremis, he couldn't have felt more stupid. He suspected that he was here for at least a day, (not counting the time he was passed out) and he never thought to use Extremis. Not even once! What was wrong with him? Oh, right, non-clear mind...might have been drugged with Chloroform. That's a good reason.

He concentrated, his mostly clear mind, which was almost crystal clear by the way, and focused all his energy in calling upon his armor with Extremis. Try as he might, nothing happened. He frowned. This shouldn't be having issues. His mind was clear enough, right? Maybe it had something to do with not knowing where he was exactly. Focusing his attention to the closest Maggia guy's phones, and tried to use Extremis on it. Nothing happened. Just like the last time.

He sighed frustrated. Now he felt truly useless. He gets all hopeful that he found a way out, an easy way out, and it just flew out the window. All due to technical difficulties, if he could call it that...

The door across the room opened and in strolled Ghost. His stride all the way to where Tony sat, was as if the man was proud of what he was doing. For all Tony knew, he was.

"Stark, it looks like I've finally opened my schedule for you!" Ghost practically teased. "And guess what, kid! This time, we're actually going to get something done!"

Ghost snapped his fingers and one of the Maggia men handed Ghost a laptop. At the same moment, Ghost opened the laptop on moved close to Tony to show him what ever it was that was on the screen.

"I've been waiting to show you this." Ghost whispered. "Maybe this will help me get my revenge!"

Tony gritted his teeth and winced as what looked like a live video of his friends. They were tied up in ropes against a wall in a building similar to the one he was in. Only it was empty and free of all those machines. Pepper seemed to be tugging at the ropes tied around Rhodey's in attempt to free him, so he could free them. But she wasn't making good progress.

"Now watch closely, Stark."

Tony didn't want to listen. He just focused on the laptop in front of him. Maggia men surrounded the group. That group being Pepper, Rhodey, and his father. At lease Roberta didn't get dragged into all of this. He wanted to look away in fear that they would try to do something to them. If they did, he wasn't about to watch.

"Don't worry." Ghost started pulling the laptop away to the Maggia member next to him. "They won't hurt them. Not unless I give them the signal."

Ghost waved his hand tauntingly in front of Tony's face. He held some kind of trigger of the sort. He guessed that was the signal. If the button on it was pressed...well, he didn't like thinking about it. No matter how mad or upset he was with his friends, he'd never wish for them to get hurt in such a way.

"Now, do what you rich kids always do." Ghost sneered. "_Sit pretty for me._"

Tony wasn't going to _sit pretty._ He wasn't about to listen to Ghost, but then again, what choice did he have?

He didn't pay attention to anything Ghost did for a few minutes, escpecially since he went half way across the room. For now, all he could do was wait and see what it was Ghost was planning for his revenge.

…

Pepper jumped back the instant she saw the Maggia coming closer. Unfortunately, he save from hitting her head on the wall, was bumping up against Howard. It was awkward enough that she sometimes felt like she was stealing Tony away from Howard and she feared what his opinion was of her. So far, he didn't seem like he didn't like her...

She scooted away from the rich genius and looked away to the Maggia who were closing in on them. "Stay back!" She shouted.

Rhodey shot her a glare that clearly said, _'SHUT UP!' _

She pouted as she realized the Maggia in front of them stopped. What were they looking at? They already got them tied up? She could see bats, crowbars, and guns at the ready, but none of them looked like they were about to fire.

She already realized that this place was a trap. It was pretty obvious when they found the POD phone on a table in the middle of the warehouse. They just had to know if it had clues on it. Of course it didn't, but now they were trapped, unable to help Tony through what ever danger he might be facing. And it still really hurt that the last thing they did was fight. What if he-? NO! He wasn't going to die. She was going to get the chance to say sorry, and get things patched up between them before she would let him die.

"Don't move!" One of the Maggia shouted as Pepper moved to sit closer to Rhodey. "We highly advise you don't move if you want to help Tony Stark!"

So, they did have Tony! "Where is he!? What have you done with him!? Is he hurt? If he is, I swear on your life that I will personally shove you're-"

"Pepper!" Rhodey snapped shocked. "SHHH!"

"What!?" She asked. "I was just saying..."

"Shut it kid!" The same Maggia member hissed. "If you want to get out of her alive, you'd listen."

"Finally!" She said exasperated. "Someone gets it right!?"

"You're crazy, kid." The Maggia member muttered before he continued to ignore them.

_Tony, _Pepper thought. _I knew we'd find you some way or another..._

She just wished she knew exactly where it was they were hiding him...

**Wow, i just remebered that i was going to add a whole 'nother section to this chapter, with Tony and Ghost, then it would have been a bit more on track...but i guess i got distracted by something and that means, i forgot, too bad too! It would have been an EXTRA long chapter! :( I guess i'm too lazy right now to add it on. But here, since tomorrows Friday, i can continue this. OH and thats the other thing i wanted to talk about. For those of you who are following my other stories, you might notice that i'm only updating this story, and sometimes Baby Phase, (Which should be updated this weekend...) Which if you did, you're right. I'm trying a new stratagies i got from Carpetbakr (I think) and its to focus on one or maybe two stories until their finished. Which, unless i get the strong urge to update one of my other stories, i'm going to be focusing on this story. (Sorry and you''re welcome!)**

**Okay, so here's another FUN FACT: _I have a odd obsession of naming bugs and getting a bit too close to them so when they die, i get really sad...:( I'll even give you some names! All Flies are called: Bob. All Box Elder bugs are called: Billy. Ladybugs: Sally. Bees: Steve. Butterflies: Phil/Philip. _  
**

**_Well, Hope you enjoyed it! :D I really should get going... O.O  
_**


	4. Chapter 4

**I finished writing this chapter today! I promise it would have been out sooner, but at school, there's a read-a-thon i'm trying to read as much as i can, but i finished the book i was reading and now i'm back to the previous book i was reading. For the moment, well, i'm just glad that i can get books for 50 cents at the thrift shop down the street... **

**Anyways, sorry to bore you...I love books...:) This chapter i think is a bit weird, i think...but it should be good. Again, i know its going on longer than i said, but really that should be a good thing...Anyways, THANKS for the awesome reviews for those of you that are reviewing my story. I really love to hear what you guys think, and so far, i've been rude not to thank you guys! SO THANK YOU! I really appreciate that you guys take the time to read my storie!  
**

**disclaimer: IMAA is not mine. As you know, i never will.  
**

Tony ignored anything Ghost said to him. Ghost knew he could talk, and was almost determined to get him to speak. Tony wasn't going to make it easy on him. Ghost had already mentioned that what he wanted was revenge. So was his revenge just tying him up to a chair in the cold while he had his friends and his father tied up elsewhere?

After about an hour or pointless shouting to try to get Tony to speak, Ghost was ready to punch him. At least that's what it looked like, with his fists balled up in fists like they were. Though, he just pulled back and walked away. Only telling his 'guards' to stay put.

And Tony was left to himself again. Other than the three Maggia men watching him. He just ignored them and wondered off into his thoughts again. He was wondering what the three were doing at the moment. It was late and it was dark outside, maybe they were sleeping. Maybe they escaped. Probably not, at least not in that short of a time period. Maybe they just sat still and listened to whatever it was those Maggia men said to them. For all he knew, Ghost was visiting them while he got to sit here, unharmed. Well, hungry and cold, but otherwise he was pretty much untouched.

His mind traveled back to the argument he had with the other two the last time they saw each other. Which he believed it was about maybe two days ago. He wasn't really sure. He really wasn't keeping track of time. Even if he was, he wasn't told how long he was passed out. Making it almost impossible to track the time he'd been in there for. He knew, it couldn't have been long, but even without the help of Chloroform, he'd be able to sleep plenty over 12 hours, and it wouldn't surprise him if he'd fallen asleep for over a day.

Returning to his original though, since his mind seemed to wander sometimes. He thought back, again, to the fight he had with his friends. He remembered Pepper said she was going. Did she mean she was leaving him? He understood enough what 'go' meant, and he also understood that they were never a couple. So, really she wasn't leaving him. She was abandoning him. If she was going. He shook his head. He shouldn't be mad at Pepper. He shouldn't let himself think that way about Pepper. He must think positive about her.

Especially if she was right. He should have told them. Maybe the knowledge of Ghost hunting them down, would have made things easier. Instead of them almost dying. He nodded to himself. That was it. They were just upset to be outside the loop. That's all. Too bad now they may never forgive him.

"You going insane or something?" One of the Maggia men sneered.

One of the others punched his arm roughly. "Idiot, we're not supposed to talk to him!"

"Oh, yeah I forgot." The first one responded.

Tony could only bite his tongue so he wouldn't say anything he might regret. As weak as a villain those guys normally were, it wasn't in his best interest to bother them when he didn't even know what they had under those jackets. Plus, they were only weak when he was Iron man and iron man happened to not be there at the moment.

_Just play it safe, _He thought to himself. _At least until I can figure out a way to get out of here with no harm coming to my friends._

…

It was what seemed like hours until half of the six Maggia men watching them had left. One had actually claimed that he'd rather face consequences than babysit. He left, apparently he quit. The other two, were called away via radio.

Pepper spent her time in the silence pretty much twiddling her thumbs, humming to herself, and glaring at the nearest Maggia member. She twisted her hands around and tugged at the ropes around her wrists. Successfully loosening them. Only, she was found out sooner or later when she tried to pull them completely off when she thought they weren't looking. So she earned a hard slap to the face.

"Ow!" She squawked as they started to tighten her ropes even tighter than before. Which was saying something.

"Hey!" Howard demanded. "Don't you touch her! She's just young."

Pepper eyed him as they just laughed and kicked him in the side. "We don't like it when you talk back."

Howard didn't even seemed fazed. He just glared coldly at them. She wondered if this was part of his business. Sending glares across the table until papers were signed and things were sold. Not literally of course.

After the Maggia men backed away from them at a fairly distant length. She looked at him with gratitude. She wished she could talk more, but that would only get her and them in trouble. She learned that the hard way last time. Now Rhodey might have a black eye...and Howard now might have a bruised rib, or worse...

"Sorry." She whispered. She had to say something, it was just eating at her.

He placed a hand on her shoulder, telling her that he understood her well enough. She sat back at the wall, her cheek still stinging. Rhodey had fallen asleep already and she wished she had the spirit to sleep. She wanted to fall asleep, she was so tired. Though, she knew she couldn't, she feared that nightmares would haunt her sleep. Her fear that something might be happening to Tony and the last thing they did was fight, was just too much to bear.

Her mind wouldn't give her a break about it. Sure, it was just a simple argument, they had those all the time, but to have such a heated argument like that...she wasn't sure if it was just a simple argument. Especially when Tony hardly said anything, nor did he shout back at them. Which made her pretty guilty about leaving him behind. She was being selfish, she knew that. She destroyed his spirit to finish that project. That project he'd been working on for weeks, months even.

She ended up passing out from fighting her sleep for too long, though she didn't get much time to sleep. For she was awoken not to long later. She could tell because it was still a bit dark.

The Maggia men walked over to them holding a laptop. She could see it was recording something, or just viewing a recording, and as they got closer she saw the similarity to the place on the screen to the place where they were at. Though, what really got her attention was the chair that seemed to be placed in the middle of the room, a raven haired teen sat, tied up in the seat. His head was down and his hair was covering his face, so he wasn't recognizable. The darkness that covered the video really made it hard to see, but she just knew that the teen was Tony. Why else would these people be showing them this?

"Boss said it was for encouragement to listen to the rules we set." He said. He being the Maggia man who held the computer up the three awake captives.

Pepper watched the screen closely as a light seemed to turn on. The teen moved and looked up tiredly. Yep, it was Tony alright. She felt her heart swell up at the sight of him. Unharmed. Though now she could see he didn't have a shirt on...she shook her head mentally slapping herself. Of all the times she's seen him without his shirt on, well, to be honest she had the same thoughts running through her head, but at those times she didn't have to worry that something might happen to him.

She also noticed that like themselves, there was three Maggia men guarding over him. Though, they seemed to keep a closer watch. Meaning, they stayed closer to him. She watched as Tony looked at them and around him almost like he forgot where he was. Maybe he was just waking up from whatever it was that knocked him out. If that was what happened.

But then she saw the annoyed tired face that he made, which clearly meant that he'd seen the place. Apparently, he was tired of the place already as if he'd been there for years. She imagined how bored he must be. All alone, to his thoughts, no one but criminals to talk to him. She saw him start muttering to himself, there must not have been volume since it seemed like the Maggia member closest to Tony turned to snap at him. Or shout.

Whatever the Maggia said, it must have hit a nerve. For Tony shot him one of the deadliest glares that she's ever seen him make. But almost as quick as it came, it was gone. His face showed no emotion again, he just looked so passive that someone might slap him and he wouldn't care. For all she knew, they were being just as rude to him as their own Maggia guards were to them.

She heard Howard mutter something, but she couldn't understand, but when she looked to him, his face wasn't worried, well it was, but he looked almost as if he was warning Tony not to do something. She worried that Tony was going to do something that could get him hurt. Or worse...no, she had to stop thinking of that.

Later, when the laptop with the video was pulled away she had asked Howard what he'd said. When the Maggia guards left to attend to a call, he told her what he'd said. He told her that it was something he'd taught Tony.

When Tony was a kid, just after his mother died, Howard was worried someone would take advantage of their loss and kidnap them. And if the captor asked questions, especially personal ones, he was to ignore them. Show no emotion at all. Shut out everyone. The intention was to try to get the captor or investigator to give up trying to get him to speak. Another idea was to show that they couldn't hurt you no matter what they did. Which also meant that who ever held him captive might try to do whatever it takes to hurt him. That was the flaw of the plan. It might cause the captor to lose faith that torture wouldn't' work, and he'd drop it or move on to easier methods. Or the captor might never stop until the captive gave in to the pain.

"So you don't want him to ignore their questions?" Pepper asked.

"No, I want him to, I'd just wish that I didn't teach him the whole ignore everything deal." Howard whispered. "Maybe listen, just don't answer the important ones."

"I see, if he answers some of them, he's not being completely disobedient." Pepper said.

Then she winced. How she'd said that, it sounded like she was calling Tony a dog. Clearly he wasn't a dog, and in the situation, she couldn't even laugh that she accidentally called him a dog. Normally, if she was with him, they'd probably laugh about that. But now...not so much. He was tied to a chair. It was no time to make jokes.

She closed her eyes with a sigh, and like Rhodey, she fell into a much needed rest.

…

Tony woke up again, and this time it was bright outside, so some light peeked in through the two visible windows. He groaned from a major headache. He felt achy and shaky and to be frank, his stomach hurt like mad.

But he ignored it. He concentrated on the now naturally lit atmosphere. It seemed almost peaceful in there. The Maggia guards aren't even there anymore. Unless they were hiding from him, but that was just pointless. It wasn't like he was going to go look for them. Even so, if they were hiding then they must have thought that he was dangerous. Which, clearly, he wasn't.

"Where are they?" He asked.

He looked around and only saw the machines running as usual. As usual as that was, something didn't seem right. The Maggia wasn't there anymore, and he didn't see Ghost either. They didn't leave him alone did they. No, it had to be a trap. To test to see if he would try to escape the minute he thinks he's safe. So, he sat still in his seat. Not bothering to try to escape. He was constantly trying to get Extremis to work, but with no luck.

For a few hours he just sat there quite, but cautious. He kept thinking back to his friends. He wondered if they were okay. They hadn't shown him the video they seemed to be recording of his friends since they first showed him. He hadn't seen Ghost since he last woke up. And that was only for a minute.

Which brought him to another thought. If Ghost was trying to get revenge, why wasn't he down here getting it? Why didn't he demand for answers or demand that he do something for him? Normally when someone kidnaps another, they'd try to get the business finished before the captive finds a way to escape or the police find out. Unless Ghost was trying to intimidate him by being all mysterious, Tony had no idea what Ghost was up to.

He pondered at the thought when the door opened. In walked Ghost who looked like he meant business. Maybe that meant he was done toying around. "You must be tired."

_Not really._ Tony thought. But he didn't speak aloud. Let the guy think what he wanted to. It didn't make it any more true than it was. He was thinking he could get to him by tempting him to something he needed.

It wasn't really working.

"I must say," Ghost started. "I thought you'd go crazy trying to escape to save your friends. Since you were, after all, left alone."

A trick? He wasn't left alone. There had to be someone. Cameras at least.

"For hours I waited for you to do something. At least try to untie yourself, that would have been something." He sounded almost disappointed.

Tony just rolled his eyes. Ghost underestimated him. He was smart enough to know if his captor was smart enough to know not to give their captives a chance. He had to admit, Ghost was pretty smart. He did after all, escape yet another prison just to get Tony.

"Still giving me the silent treatment eh?" Ghost said noticing Tony's silence. "Well, I'm not going to ask or demand of anything of you. I've decided to get better revenge. After all this time, I've been all talk, no action."

Ghost was pacing back and forth across the floor in front of Tony. His gaze downcast, his arms crossed, and his posture straight. When he stopped, he turned to Tony, "Now, I get my revenge."

**So the next chapter might be a bit harder to write so it will take longer for me to update...that plus the read-a-thon...but i promise, i'm working hard! I'm even half way done with the next chapter of baby Phase! **

**Which reminds me, for those of you reading that story and are following it, i put a poll on my profile for Baby Phase and i wish (please and thank you) that you would please check it out if you haven't. I don't mean to sound like i'm begging, but it'd be nice to hear what you guys believe. Again, please check it out. It will take 2 seconds. Thanks :)  
**

**Fun Fact: _In 3rd grade, i was in 8th grade algebra, but i dropped out due to stomach issues (the start of my lactose Intolerance). Plus, my mom was pregnant. _  
**

**_Well, i'm off to write some of the next chapter, baby phase, but please tell me if you're going crazy for some of my other stories. Then i'll try my best to work on at least a chapter while i work out the next chapter. So for now, BYE! :)  
_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Well, i updated the story! I'm happy with it, but i don't think it's my best chapter... Well, i hope you guys like it better than i do. **

**Disclaimer: IMAA is not owned by me, Nicktoons or Marvel does.**

Tony didn't watch as Ghost wandered away towards those tables. Honestly, he didn't really care. At least not at the time for he was actively busy trying to force Extremis into working. If he could do just that, he could save himself so he could save his friends and his dad. Almost easily. But too bad for him, because luck wasn't on his side today. He was really starting to get frustrated at why he couldn't use Extremist.

He thought maybe because it was so cold in there, but then again, he still had usage of the portable heater. The he thought about the Chloroform he was now almost positive they used on him. Then again, it doesn't take about three days for that to wear off. Maybe Ghost found a way to block it. That was not a good sign.

He watched almost with an absent mind as Ghost walked over holding a knife. A knife, really? As worried as he was, he couldn't help but think about how old it was getting for the captor to go straight for the blades. Honestly, he's seen it many times before, and was almost victim to them many times before, with different people. So he was growing tired with the whole knife act. Couldn't they choose something more unique?

Not that he didn't mind it being a knife instead of something else that might be around. He just was tired of the same old threat.

"I see you don't look scared." Ghost said.

Tony wanted to give him a sarcastic remark about just how cliché this was. But he kept his mouth shut. This was much like an interrogation. Give in, you pretty much lose. Its a win or lose game. If he answered the question or demand, he was surrendering, there for he lost. They won. Or in this case, as he was seeing it, was if he screamed or showed his pain, he lost.

If that was what Ghost was even planning.

"I'll make it quick." Ghost said and he moved his arm out in a quick slash.

…

The Maggia had left them alone for once. Rhodey was sleeping as was Howard. She didn't really blame them. They were seriously out of sleeping habits, but then again, she who was getting the least amount of sleep then the other two, realized that it wasn't so late in the afternoon. It was the very beginning of the afternoon. So it didn't really matter if the other two were awake.

So she used the time alone to get some time to think with out the other two asking her questions. She could think about Tony more clearly. She was worried. Not because of the fight, but because of the lack of knowledge. She didn't know if Tony was still alright. She didn't know if he was still safe. Though, she knew there was nothing safe about being tied up in a chair. She still couldn't help, but wish that he was okay and safe.

After a few minutes of worrying over Tony she almost brought herself to tears just thinking about what they might do to him. What they might have already done...She just blinked the tears away and did her best to adjust her arms so they were in front of her. It tired her muscles, but it was a whole lot more comfortable than having them tied behind her back. She brought her knees to her face and rested her chin on them.

She continued to think about Tony. She even used that spared time to sort out those feelings she never had time to work over them. She was so confused on what her and Tony's relationship was. Ever since the invasion she'd been so confused at what she was to Tony.

He'd kissed her on the cheek, after she tried three times to confess to him that she liked him. And more than a friend too. But, they never really had the chance to talk about the kiss after the invasion. That, or one of them was avoiding the talk. Too afraid to face their feelings. She had a feeling it was him, but she knew that she was scared to share her feelings and to actually talk them out with the person she was sure she loved.

She jumped the instant she heard a voice behind her. "What you thinking about?"

"Rhodey, don't scare me like that." She said moving to sit next to him.

"Sorry." Rhodey replied. "So what are you thinking about?"

"Tony." Pepper said a blush reaching her face.

"I should have known."

She wanted to punch his shoulder like she normally would have when he jabbed at the two with his comments on how they were meant to be. Which she didn't exactly oppose, she just was embarrassed to say so.

"So, do you like him?" Rhodey asked curious.

"N-no." She stuttered.

"Yes you do." Rhodey said smiling. "I know you do."

"No I don't."

"Okay I was wrong." Rhodey said to her relief. "You don't like him, you love him."

If Pepper was eating, she would have choked on it. She looked to her friend with a red face. She couldn't hide it. "Rhodey!"

"Ha! I knew it! You love Tony, you love Tony!" Rhodey sang. "Tony and Pepper sitting in a tree..."

This time, she shoved herself at him successfully pushing him away. "Jerk."

"Admit it." Rhodey pressed. "You love Tony. You are in love with Tony Stark."

"Fine!" Pepper said giving up. "I love Tony! I am in love with Tony stark!"

A chuckle sounded from next to them and when Pepper realized that Howard had heard what she'd said, she wanted to find a deep hole and bury herself there. Never to be found again.

"Howard!" She squeaked. "How long have you been awake?"

"Long enough." He said with a smile.

She felt her entire face flare up as blood rushed up. She wanted to say something, but she was speechless. She just admitted to her love to Tony in front of his dad. What if he was mad? What if he thought she wasn't good enough for his son?

"Is it okay...?" She asked nervously.

"What? To be in love with my son?" Howard asked incredulously. "Of course! I don't mind! Go on ahead!"

She could have died in relief. "Thanks."

"Yep," Howard said. "You know, I never thought that Tony would make any friends. Let alone find someone who could love him the way you do. I always thought he'd end up with Whitney or something."

Pepper winced at the name. Whitney Stane. The person she almost lost Tony to. Over that short period of time that Tony dated Whitney, she thought that she'd missed her chance to be with Tony. She remembered how hurt she felt when she first found out. Then to mask the pain, she dated Happy. Which, she had to admit, it was nice to be able to hang out with someone else. It was nice to know that she was able to enjoy time with another, but she knew she would never feel as strongly towards anyone but Tony.

"Yeah, that's what everyone else thought." She mumbled.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have brought that up." Howard said.

"No, it's alright." Pepper said. "It's what everyone thought. The two rich kids in school, best friends since childhood, the seemingly perfect couple."

She snorted. As if. They were no where close to a perfect couple. She wasn't saying that he and herself would be any better, she was saying that she loved him and she would do anything to keep Tony safe. He actually trusted her enough with his biggest secret. Iron man. Though she was the one who found out, he accepted that she knew it.

They soon fell into a silence as the day grew on. She was hungry and she was tired. Not enough sleep, not enough food, not enough comfort. The place was pretty cold, but not too cold that it was numbing.

_Oh Tony, _she thought. _Come be my hero again. I'm sorry for leaving you._

…

Ghost laughed when Tony flinched away from him, lessening the damage the blade would have caused. His chest now had a not so deep cut running across it. "Good job, now if you would. _Sit pretty." _

Tony wanted to ask if he was serious. Did he really think Tony would 'sit pretty' for him while he cut him? But he bit his tongue, holding his words back. He wouldn't give Ghost that pleasure. He already had enough pleasure of successfully kidnapping Tony.

Ghost slashed out at Tony once more with more speed this time. But he deliberately made it only a small cut. Though, it was still big enough to cause blood to course down Tony's bare chest. He bit his tongue to hold back any sounds he might have made. He bit down until he tasted blood.

Ghost walked off somewhere, taking the heater away. Tony waited for the cold. And after a few minutes, the heat was gone. He knew this would happen. Ghost would get him used to the heat, so the cold would hit him harder than a brick wall. Tony was amazed at how cold it got.

Ghost returned and Tony could hear the smirk on Ghost's face. "Maybe this will help."

Tony ignored him. He wouldn't' talk, he wouldn't scream, he wouldn't respond. He wouldn't allow it. He would ignore his jabs and sneers. He would make sure that no matter what Ghost did, he didn't give him that satisfaction.

About an hour later, Ghost seemed tired of Tony's disobedience. "The next time we meet, you'd better make me proud. Or have you forgotten, you're friends are also under my grasp?"

Tony glared at Ghost. "Leave them alone."

"Maybe I will, maybe I won't. It all depends on you."

…

Ghost had actually cut Tony free except for the new chains around his feet. Either way, he was happy to have his arms free. He was able to keep at least a little bit warm. It seemed like it was colder than it had first been, but Tony knew that was only because he had already gotten accustomed to the heat. Now, he really couldn't feel his feet or hands. Though, his chest was burning from the many cuts it received. He had cuts running up and down his torso and arms. He was just glad that none of them seemed to go deep. But that didn't keep him from getting lightheaded.

Soon enough, he was out like a light on the floor where he'd abandon the chair next to him.

…

Rhodey woke up from an uneasy sleep when he heard Pepper talking. He rubbed his eyes and looked around to find her. He was expecting to see her talking to Howard or maybe arguing with the Maggia, but the Maggia wasn't there anymore. That they knew of at least. But when he saw her, she was talking to herself.

"Pepper, you okay?" He asked moving closer to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Pepper lied.

Rhodey narrowed his eyes, but decided to leave it be. "Okay."

Pepper looked down and bit her lip. "I'm just worried."

"I know, I am too." Rhodey replied.

"What if he's hurt? What if he can't escape? What if he's-" She stopped with a choked sound.

Rhodey put a hand on her shoulder. "Pepper, you know him. He'll be fine. And I know that he's not dead."

Actually he didn't know if Tony was alive or not, but it was best to keep that feeling to himself. It wasn't best to worry Pepper, especially when it involved Tony being in danger. He sat there silent for a minute just waiting for Pepper to reply. For about a full 5 minutes, she said nothing.

"I wish I could say sorry to him." Pepper mumbled barely audible.

"I know." Rhodey said looking down. "I do too."

He felt really guilty. They both shouted at him, they both made such a big deal over that argument. He never shouted back, he never tried to prove them wrong. Which made the whole argument seem like it was just one sided. Which pretty much it was. They left before Tony could explain himself better. They left him alone.

"I mean, maybe he doesn't know that we're here, so he cant save us. Maybe he thinks we left him forever and doesn't care if he dies or not..." Pepper said close to tears.

"He will be fine." Rhodey said trying to keep her calm. "Pepper, you must get some sleep. I haven't seen you sleep in a while."

She frowned as shes considered the idea. "Okay, I will."

…

**It was horrible, right? But i tried my best on it, and i hope the next chapter goes better, and the next chapter should be the next step to the final chapter, like i said, i'm trying not to drag this out too much. So, again, i hoped you guys liked the chapter, even though i think its not so good...**

**Fun fact: _I love playing with frogs/toads, so i'll walk around the neighborhood at my dads house, looking for them and pretty much collect them. Then me and my brother hold frog races on the sidewalk, before we let them all go. _**

**The next chapter should be up soon, but i _might _work on Haunted Shadows or Baby Phase. Baby phase for sure, but Haunted Shadows, might be a bit longer. Well, i'm off to play Skyrim then to more writing!**


	6. Chapter 6

**YAY, i updated it a few days earlier than i thought i would! Reason being, is that the people i had to babysit, ended up not needing to be. And i woke up early today. I was honestly surprised that i updated today, you see i bought Sims 3 and Sims 3 Seasons yesterday, and i could hardly pull myself away from it to finish this chapter...0.o **

**Disclaimer: IMAA is not mine, i do not own it, so yeah... enjoy! **

The first thing Tony registered that wasn't the cold, was the sound of water dripping. He couldn't bring himself to open his eyes. And for some ungodly reason, he felt sticky. It wasn't honey sticky or maybe glue sticky, it was more like dried up apple juice. Just a bit more fluid like. His arms and chest burned with almost unbearable heat, yet the rest of him was frozen like ice.

He groaned and tried to open his eyes. At first his vision was blurry, but soon enough it cleared up enough so that he could see. As far as he could see he was in the same place as he was last time. He looked down to see that the sticky stuff was his blood. He shuddered as he remembered what had happened. He supposed it could have been worse.

The ceiling leaked water causing each drop to fall to the floor with a constant drip. _Drip. Drip. Drip. _It was soothing to hear, but very unnerving to watch. It made it seem like the earth had frozen. Like he was the only person on earth that wasn't frozen. As if it was only him and the water.

_Drip. Drip. Drip._

When he looked down to his chest, he didn't find any comfort in the little yet strong amount of heat. He found it unsettling and painful. A burning heat that was constantly branded to his skin. It didn't help that even with the darkened surroundings, he could tell that the skin under the dry blood was red and irritated.

He bit his lower lip and pushed himself to a sitting position and looked around. No one. He was alone. But was he really alone? Was this a trick? Apparently to Ghost, he was alone at some point. But would Ghost do that again?

Tony shook his head. It wasn't the time to think about that. He should try to escape before anything happened to his family and friends. He felt incredibly selfish. While they sat there a suffered who knows what, he sat there thinking he was the only one that could get hurt. Once he was dead, Ghost would move on to Rhodey, Pepper, or his dad…

No, he wouldn't let that happen.

But what was he supposed to do? It wasn't like he was tied up with ropes anymore. He was held down to the ground by solid chains. Ropes, were adjustable. He could stretch and loosen those easily with enough effort. But chains? He laughed at the thought of it.

_Drip. Drip. Drip. _

The water from the ceiling lands two inches away from Tony's hand. He lets a few drop on his hand. He couldn't help but realize how thirsty he was. The water was just there to tease him. Just Ghost's luck. The small puddles of water that formed just taunted him. His stomach ached for water. His throat was sore and dry.

Almost subconsciously, he pulls at the chains. He tried to call out for someone. For who? He had no clue. But he did found out that he no longer had his voice. His voice was gone once again. His fingers were numb again and his legs were hardly noticed. The only thing left noticed the burning of his chest and arms. His insides burned with an icy feeling.

He just closed his eyes when he heard the door open. He contemplated playing dead or something. At least pretending to be asleep, but he knew it would be useless. It was pointless to play dead when you're sitting up. It would take a miracle for him to believe that.

But he kept his eyes close anyways. Even if he wasn't dead or asleep, he wasn't going to acknowledge Ghost's presence. If that who just walked in. He couldn't talk anyways, so why ask. He figured he'd say something sooner or later and Tony would find out if it was Ghost or not.

"Finally!" Ghost's voice said sounding almost cheery. "That was longer than the last time!"

Tony opened his eyes. The first thing his eyes focused on was the tray of food Ghost was carrying. It supported up what looked like a bowl of rice, and orange, and a glass of water. Either way, he was happy that there was food, but there had to be a catch. Either he would pay for it later, or he would have to do something in order to earn the food.

"Here" He said and simply handed him the tray.

With numb fingers, Tony grabbed the tray from Ghost. He still didn't trust Ghost. Not even if Ghost walked in offering him a kings feast.

"I figure it's not in my ideal plans to let you die of starvation or dehydration." Ghost said.

'_So what's the catch?' _Tony wanted to say. But his voice was lost, his throat dry.

Ghost seemed to read Tony's mind. "No, I didn't poison them and no, you don't have to work for it. At least if you cooperate with me. If you don't then I have no choice, but to speed things up. And you're payment for food is already partially paid for."

'_What?' _Tony thought.

Instead of trying to figure out what Ghost was planning, he began to eat his 'meal'. If he could really call it that. Ghost walked off setting something up on the tables. He called some Maggia on the radio they all were using.

By the time Tony finished, Ghost was back to push his tray away and in a swift move, he lashed out at Tony's stomach with a hidden blade, leaving the deepest mark yet. It wasn't as deep as it would kill him, (instantly) but it sure was painful.

Tony hissed in pain, but refused to make any other noise. Even if he couldn't' really speak, though having a bit of water helped a bit, he didn't want to risk the chance that he can still scream.

The next thing Ghost did was dump plain salt onto his chest and Tony cried out in pain, but bit his tongue cutting it off. His poor tongue, taking all the damage in his mouth. He was surprised at how strong it was. Though, the pain in his chest was already unbearable, but now it was just torture.

Soon enough though, once Ghost finished laughing, Ghost dumped a huge bucked of hot water on him. If it wasn't so burning hot, he would have liked it. Though, the burning of his chest and the freezing of his fingers, proved not to like the odd feeling of being warm.

The Ghost pulled out some kind of rod that had tendrils of electricity zapping around it. First, Ghost touched the ground with the electric rod, conducting electricity through the puddle on the floor and the water that soaked Tony.

Tony clenched his teeth. He was so close to making some kind of noise. A scream or not, he wasn't ready to give Ghost that pleasure. He hoped that he could get Extremis working. At least before Ghost got his satisfaction.

Then he'd be able to save Pepper…and the others.

…

Pepper after her rest, woke to a weird fishy smell. For a moment she thought she was at a fish store with her mom, but she remembered where she was a little too soon. She opened her eyes to see Rhodey and Howard munching on fish sticks, a banana, and a glass of water. She laid next to a tray like theirs.

After they encouraged her that it was safe, she dug right in. She hadn't realized just how hungry she was. She was starved! Though she felt selfish. What if Tony was still left unfed? What if he was starving? What if they didn't care if he was fed or not? She wished she could lose the negative thoughts.

"Rhodey, do you know what time it is?" Pepper asked already knowing the answer.

"No," Rhodey said. "There's no clock."

She nodded. "Right…"

She wanted to know the time. She could tell it was sunset, already, but she still wanted to know. She deserved that much. Anyone deserves to know the time. It's not like a clock will help them escape.

She bit her already raw lip and fidgeted around for a moment. She saw Rhodey looking at her worriedly, but she ignored it. She was trying to think. How could they escape? She decided she was no longer going to sit around and wait for something bad to happen. She was going to do something about this. She started to twist and tug her arms to try to loosen the ropes around her wrists. It burned and cut at her hand. She could tell it was bleeding after about ten minutes of trying. She didn't care.

The rope was starting to loosen a tad, but she knew it would still be awhile before anything major happened. Like the rope slipping off of her. So, for the next hour she switched from trying to loosen the ropes around her arms and her legs. Occasionally, she would take a break and chat up a bit with Howard and Rhodey.

Unfortunately for her, she had gotten far too tired to do any more at some point and she passed out. Though, when she woke up, she was relieved to find she was still with the loosened ropes. She feared that if she had fallen asleep, someone would come and tighten them back up, but no one did. So, she returned to what she was doing.

The redhead soon freed her arms. Almost instantly she finished off with her legs, and even the others. He stomach had gone wild with nervous butterflies. Not, the happy nervous like how she would feel if she had a boyfriend- namely a certain genius she knew…- and they were on their first date, or how it would feel when she was about to be kissed, by said genius…It wasn't even the butterflies one would get before speaking publicly.

It was more in fear that once they were free, they were going to get caught. Though, she wasn't going to let a bad feeling ruin her chance at saving Tony. She wasn't not about to have the last thing they did together was fight. That was _not _happening. At least not while she was alive.

For now, she was going to think that she was free. She was set free, and now she was going to use her freedom to save her best friend. She was determined not to fail. She would fight through millions of troops just to get to him, even if she died instantly after. She needed to see Tony, she needed to make up for that fight. She _needed _him.

…

Tony managed to pull himself up off the floor and onto the chair he had recently sat in before. Ghost had left him after pouring one more bucket of water over his head, with the following shock. Instead it was a bit more direct. Though, Tony had bit his tongue until he was spitting blood. He didn't scream or give Ghost any satisfaction, at least that he knew. Ghost left him grumbling something about plan B or something. Leaving Tony to ponder about what Plan B might be.

Tony shivered heavily as he tried to wrap his arms around himself. It didn't work. He only succeeded in hurting his arms and chest even more. It was almost like he still had the salt in his cuts, which had conveniently stopped bleeding. He was still not comforted by the irritate look it was giving off. He was starting to wonder if it had an infection. He wouldn't doubt it.

After pondering about that for a moment, he shivered some more and moved to the floor so he was a little bit more comfortable when he used his arm as a pillow, and rested.

…

It didn't take long for him to wake up again. At first he was aware that he wasn't really alone, but he decided to keep his eyes closed. He wondered if he should just keep his eyes close so he didn't have to know what was coming. If it was Ghost who was with him, he didn't really want to deal with anything Ghost might have planned for this visit. So he kept his eyes closed.

Though, he suspicions that it might be Ghost vanished the moment he heard the voices. Their voices. Voices he had wished to hear at least once more before he died. If he died, but he still need to work something things with them. And the third voice. He still wished to show him some things.

He kept his eyes closed in fear that they would stop talking. He wanted – no he needed to hear at least a little more of their voices before they realized he was awake.

"-my fault." That was her voice.

Pepper.

"No, it's not." The other two replied.

Howard, Rhodey.

"Yes it is." Pepper.

"You were only doing what you thought was best." Rhodey. "You were trying to help."

"I wasn't thinking." Pepper.

"No," Howard. Dad. "You probably wasn't, but because of the situation, I haven't been thinking smart either."

"You're a genius though." Pepper.

"So is Tony, but do you see him thinking straight 24/7?" Dad.

A sigh. Who's, probably Peppers. _Oh, Pep._ Tony thought to himself. _Why do you blame yourself? I'm sure it wasn't too bad…_

"I guess not." Pepper's.

He slowly opened his eyes, trying not to draw attention to himself through any noise. Once his eyes focused, he saw them. They were sitting a pretty far distance away from himself, but they were lucky enough to sit by the fireplace nearby. He wasn't so lucky. Plus, they all had shirts or sweaters on.

He moved a bit, but groaned when he realized just how sore he was. He was in no shape to do heavy or fast movements. The first one to notice that he was awake was Pepper, who must have super hearing to hear a voice, let alone sound, that soft from that distance.

"Tony." Pepper gasped out. She moved to get closer to him, but was stopped by chains around her wrists that was connected to the wall next to them.

"Tony you're awake." Rhodey said with a small smile.

Tony stared at them with tired eyes. He opened his mouth to speak, but his voice couldn't be found. Instead, he found himself yawning tiredly as he moved painfully slow as he sat up.

"How you feeling son?" his father asked.

'_Like I got dragged across a bed of nails…and dropped off of the Eifel Tower…'_He would have responded. But he couldn't speak. He tried clearing his throat, but that hurt from a sore throat. His head hurt, almost as if it was being pounded with a hammer. He was wondering why his heart was mad, it was probably bouncing around in his head, it hurt.

"Tony?" Rhodey voiced.

"You okay?" Pepper questioned.

He nodded and looked away for a moment. He half expected Ghost to walk in taunting that he now had all of them together. He could almost see Ghost teasing him about the ability to hurt them then and there. Even if Tony was watching. He shuddered.

"Tony what happened?" Pepper asked. "You were asleep for a while."

He yawned again and winced as he stretched. Successfully opening his cuts again. He clutched his hand over them, just barely touching it. He really wished he could find his voice. They were all staring at him. He wished he could at least say that he was fine. But no, his voice was stuck in his throat with a sore throat.

"Tony." Rhodey said. "Answer us, please."

"You better not be ignoring us." Pepper said.

"You guys." Howard started. "Give him a moment."

Tony gave his dad a thankful look and his dad nodded. He took a deep breath, and opened his mouth, he was determined to find at least a little bit of his voice, but it was so cold. He was shivering like mad. Did they notice?

He found a tad bit of his voice, but when he tried to use it, it came out sort of like this. "I-I-I-I-I-"

Nope, his voice was still just a stuttering mess. So he shook his head and did his best to use his hands to tell them that he couldn't' talk. It took a few minutes, but his dad was the first to realize that his son couldn't talk.

"Guys, I don't think he _can _talk. Even if he wanted to." Howard said.

Pepper gasped. "_What did he do to you?" _

"I think he cut him." Rhodey said flatly.

"Well, obviously, but they had to have done something else. To lose your voice like that…they had to have done something worse."

"It cold in here. Maybe that's why. He was stuttering when he did try to talk." Howard said. "After all he doesn't really have a shirt on."

"You're right." Pepper said. "Oh, I feel so bad. If we didn't have that fight, Tony wouldn't have quit early on his project. He wouldn't have gone home early enough to get kidnapped."

"Pepper it doesn't matter if the fight happened or not. Ghost already knows where the armory is." Rhodey pointed out.

"Who's ghost?" Howard asked.

The two teens that could speak shared a look. But sure enough, they explained what happened the first time they met Ghost and the few other times that they had met him. Including the blackmail scheme. When they finished Howard was nodding.

"Okay, so its revenge that Ghost is seeking." Howard clarified.

"Yep."

They continued to talk about Ghost while Tony climbed back in his chair. By the time they finished the conversation, the door across the room opened. In the door way stood, Ghost.

He was followed by four Maggia men. He walked in and stood in front of Tony. "Good morning, sleepyhead."

"You stay away from him!" Pepper shouted.

Ghost whispered something to the Maggia men, and three of them moved and tied the three up and dragged them out of the room. Pepper still was kicking and screaming.

"Now, Stark." Ghost started. "They are now to stay out there while you and I get to have some fun. Oh, and remember, if I don't hear you scream soon, maybe I can get the red head to. Rhodey? Your father? Who knows?"

"You stay away from them." Tony warned.

"Make me."

**So did you like it or did you hate it? I thought i did a pretty good job up until the ending, but yeah. Oh and PercyJacksonLover14, your questions, some of them, were almost dead on to what i was planning. It was almost scary...O.O No, it _was _scary. :) Good job then! **

**THANK you guys so much for reviewing this story! I work hard to please and glad to know it pays off sometimes! :) You guys are the best! **

**Fun Fact: _Harvest Moon, Animal Crossing, and all the Sims games are my FAVORITE game in the whole wide world! I can play those games for hours without breaks. I find it sort of funny when my Sims get electricuted and they walk around in their underwear until they take a show...Does that make me weirder than i already am?_**

**Okay, so i hoped you guys liked it and i'm off to play MORE Sims. Then, i'm going to finish the minichapter for Baby Phase. Seeya~!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Whoo! I updated again! I'm not entiredly sure when the last time i updated this...but none the less, its here! And plus, it wasn't too long ago. :) Well, i have nothing else to say, right now...so with no further ado, ENJOY!**

**Wait no, i lied sorry...i forgot. Someone mentioned in a review that at the end i had tony speak, and (Actually two people did) i hadn't really planned on that...and i just noticed that today...so...yeah. Well, i tried to fix it up a bit in this chapter, you'll see what i mean. But THANKS for mentioning that! I would have totally spaced that! **

**Wait, I forgot the disclaimer...IMAA is not mine! _There short and simple...**

Tony swallowed to sooth his sore throat. At least he spoke. Though he continued to keep his mouth shut. If Ghost wanted him to scream, to make some kind of noise to acknowledge that he was in pain, he wasn't going to give it to him. Unless, things were to start turning in _that _direction…then he might just have to give in at least a little… but for now, he seemed pretty safe from that happening.

If he strained hard enough, he could still hear Pepper screaming and demanding that she be let back in. If Ghost were to try anything funny on him, or her, Tony wouldn't know what to do exactly if Pepper saw. She already saw the result of what Ghost was doing, but not the…process.

So he sat there, still, inattentive, and silent. Even if he had spoken a little bit he still didn't like the feeling it gave him. It was odd and uncomfortable with the following sting. He thought maybe it was a motivation to speak, or maybe a reason to, or possible just him being protective. He would never let anything happen to his family if he had something to say or do about it. Which at the moment he didn't. He wasted every waking minute trying to call upon his armor, Rhodey's, or even Pepper's armor with extremis.

He sometimes felt a twinge or a slight shock to his head almost as if extremis was working again, but it would go away instantly. He still continued to try though. His family was on the other side of that door. He was still chained to the freezing floor, only allowed an old metal chair. Ghost had all the power here.

Tony eyed Ghost warily as he seemed to be cleaning something, or he might be sharpening it…either way, he didn't like the looks of it. The anticipation of whatever was about to happen, was slowly getting to his head. He wish Ghost was like normal kidnappers. Kidnap, call for ransom, get ransom, release victim. Not slowly torture the poor victim.

Then again, this wasn't no ordinary kidnapping. It was clearly thought out. And had different motives that wasn't money.

Ghost wondered off towards the fireplace and Tony pretty much tuned everything out from there on out. At least he was hoping he could tune out for a moment.

He thought of Pepper who seemed to have quieted down. He sure hoped she did it willingly. It would nearly kill the genius if he were to find out she was killed or hurt because she was worrying about him. If she was dead…no she wasn't. Ghost was after him, not her. Even so, Pepper could be used as leverage against himself if he wasn't to listen, which he still thought of doing. With some limits of course.

A searing hot pain under his foot brought him out of his thoughts. He cried out in surprise as he looked down. A white hot branding iron was pressed against his foot. He pulled his leg back but, apparently Ghost was already done. But that didn't stop him from getting his other foot. He bit his already abused tongue hard, but he still made a pained sound.

"At least I got some kind of response." Ghost said, pleasure in his tone.

He tossed the branding iron aside and laughed. Ghost looked down and observed something. Tony cautiously followed Ghost's gaze and frowned, unsure what he was seeing. Ghost was looking at his legs which were splayed out strait to avoid contact to the ground with the burns under his feet. Tony could have almost swore he could see Ghost smile behind his mask.

Tony closed his eyes, biting his tongue, preparing for whatever it was that Ghost thought up. Whatever it was, it couldn't be all too bad. He didn't appear to have any other weapon on him other than his custom gun, and well he didn't think ghost was done yet. The silence that is starting is beginning to unnerve Tony. Ghost has a plan, a plan that he must think will work against him.

He could still hear the raindrops, otherwise they started up again. He opened his eyes and looked out the window. It was dark out. He groaned. Yet another day was passing and he was still in this room. Though, he'd much rather it was himself instead with the others.

He closed his eyes again. This time, he bit his bottom lip. He was not going to be surprised like he was before. So he opened his eyes.

Just in time, too.

A nauseating cracking sound echoed through the room.

He couldn't help it. He screamed.

…

Pepper scolded herself profusely. In her head of course. When she did it aloud, the others would just try their best to convince her that it wasn't her fault when it was clearly her fault. The Maggia men even said it to her. Though, deep down she knew it was just them trying to pull emotions from her. She just still believed it was her fault anyways.

If they hadn't seen her escaping, if she had just stayed where she was, they wouldn't have been brought to Tony. Which don't be confused. She liked that she was able to see just how okay he was. Which he wasn't…she just didn't like that now Ghost had direct leverage against Tony, and no matter what she said during that fight, she didn't want to not see his death. As weird as that sounds, it would comfort her to know the full story, and not just by using inferences and police reports.

She stopped her screaming the instant a Maggia guy threatened to pull out his gun, when he had already half way pulled it out, so she sat down quietly. They were currently tied up like they were in the old warehouse, but to chairs as well.

They were allowed to whisper, but if they heard any planning on how to get escape, they'd be there to shut them up. Regardless of Ghost's rules. Which were to not kill them, unless necessary. Which planning an escape plan, would require a necessary killing.

"I want to go home." Pepper complained more to herself than to anyone else, but Rhodey who was just by her side, nudged her.

"Hey, everything's going to be alright." Rhodey said. He seemed to be fighting his own worriedness.

"Yeah, Tony's smart, and he strong, he can deal with it." Howard said, but it seemed cut short, but Pepper was sure it was because the ending was something like _'he can deal with it until we find a way to escape.' _

Which she wish she could believe him, but truth be it, that she didn't. It was crazy cold in there and she was wearing a short sleeved shirt, though she would rather have that, than nothing at all. Which Tony had to deal with she was sure. He must be cold…

She shook her head to keep herself from thinking that way. Sure it was just cold, but it was so cold he couldn't talk. She noticed his fingers were pale white. She also noticed the redness that his wounds had taken upon to color.

"Howard?" She whispered just loud enough for him to hear, and just quiet enough for the Maggia men to barely hear.

"Yeah?" He responded in a whisper.

"Remember Tony's cuts?" She paused, but didn't wait for an answer. "Were they infected?"

She heard him sigh. "The beginning stages, yes."

"Will they kill him?" She questioned.

A long pause. "Hard to say if it would kill him, at lease instantly or not, but it would sure hurt…"

Pepper's heart hurt just to hear that along with the cuts and the cold, he was in more pain. He was in pain while the only pain they suffered was mental or hunger, which they were already handed banana's which she tried to deny them, but Rhodey convinced her that she needed it.

They sat in silence. At least until she heard a faint cry. Not like a sob, but more like a cry in shock. A short scream. She snapped her head in the direction of the door. She knew he was getting hurt some more. She knew it. She wanted to cover her ears. If that was just the beginning, she feared what he would sound like if it were to get worse. Which she hoped didn't happen, but she still didn't want to hear the pain he must be going through.

"Rhodey," even her whisper voice cracked. "I don't want him to get hurt."

Rhodey looked at her with concern. She hated sounding like such a child, but she was cold, worried, scared, and hungry. She wasn't going to hide it.

"Not anymore, not again." She whispered again, she blinked back tears. She was such a baby right now, she wanted to hide.

Rhodey wanted to lean over and give her a hug. He didn't want his friend to cry. Not only for her mental health, but for the guards that might not like a crying teenager. Instead he settled with a gently nudge with his elbow.

"Hey," He started his own voice sounding distressed. "It will be okay."

_No it won't! _She wanted to scream. _Not when he's getting hurt like that! _

"Pepper, please don't get worked up. Tony wouldn't like it, he's probably not doing what he's told because he's worried Ghost will hurt you, or us." Howard said.

She nodded. _So you're going to use that card huh? _"I know, it's just I can't help but-"

She was cut off by a terrible, horrifying sound. At least to her.

He screamed. He was screaming.

That did it. She started to sob quietly to her shoulder, trying to hide her face from the Maggia men. Ghost must have did something. Some painful. She's seen him get knocked off building, him being thrown into a building, him being shot at or blown up, and he never, _never _screamed like that.

It made her sick that Ghost thought he could get away with something like this. It made her even sicker when he walked out brushing his hands, apparently pleased with his work.

She glared at him. She would never get that scream out of her head. Not for a long while. She swallowed and blinked to try to not cry. They were dragged back in there to the warmth of the fireplace, the place she wanted Tony to be instead of where he was. Where he was, was in the same place was he was last time. Only he faced away from them.

She didn't see any blood, but she did see a branding iron nearby. She literally wanted to rip Ghost's head off. He hurt Tony. He hurt him beyond what any other villain has accomplished. (Well, maybe whiplash…)

Later, she saw him turn around, and he wasn't shivering like the last time. She tilted her head, but soon saw the portable heater next to him. At least he had that.

He was laying on his side, but a bit oddly. She narrowed her eyes and scanned for the evidence left behind that caused his screams. She saw his eyes were slightly opened, just partly, so he was awake, he seemed to be looking down at his feet. She followed his stare directly to his right leg. Not his right knee.

She gasped. "Tony."

Howard and Rhodey both looked over and soon found what she had saw. "Oh…"

Despite the long pants over his knee, she could see that something wasn't right. It was _bent. _It just looked…unnatural…and painful. Pepper swore she could feel it in her own knee as if she had loss her knee and felt the pain. No, he didn't lose his knee, but it was looked almost caved in, and bent a bit sideways…

She shuddered. That must be why he screamed. He hasn't ever broken a bone before that she knew of, yet she knew from research, that that kind of break, is just…unbearable one might say…

Tony noticed her staring and his smiled lightly, before wincing as he shifted to a more comfortable position with his right leg sitting forward so it was pointing at them. Almost, he wasn't the most flexible, and it would hurt more if he put it out to far.

"Hey Pep." He smiled again.

"Hey." She said. "You can talk."

"You've noticed." Tony said.

She couldn't help but laugh a little. "Yeah, must be cold…sorry."

"Don't be." He responded. "As long as all of you are safe."

She wanted to bring up that that was exactly what she didn't want him to do. It was exactly what he did with the last time they met ghost. But she didn't dare. She started to realize that he would die for his family's safety.

"Are you okay?" She asked.

His smiled faded for a minute. "Don't bring it up."

"Sorry…" She mumbled.

Tony smiled again, tiredly. "I'm going to pass out now, so…night."

Pepper blinked. She watched as he just closed his eyes and he seemed to be out like a rock. She sighed, and pretty much followed his lead. She was not looking forward to the next time they woke up…

**...So, what it any good...? -_- I worry a lot about this chapter, especially since i wrote it all today/tonight... and i'm a bit distracted, but hopefully i was there completely while typing this! :) **

**Fun Fact: _I am a crazy fan when it comes to anything PewDiePie related! Me and my best friend love watching his youtube videos! Their funny and scary! I love how he name inanimate objects - especially Stephano! :)_**

**Other fun fact: I am a complete bookworm. in this entire month, i've read 55 hours. Starting Febuary 1st to Feb 20th.**

**Okay, well, Please review! I'd like to know if this chapter needs to be fixed up.**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, first things first, Sorry for not updating sooner, i had a school project that needed LOTS of video editing and the program i used was junky so i had to get a new program. Then on the plus side, i got a request and i worked on the for a few days, and the to add to that, i had a sleepover at a friends out this weekend AND i'm coming down with a cold so, i'm sleeping in a bunch.**

**Well anyways, this chapter is quite exciting! I'm really excited to hear your reviews! EEK! :) I'm just so psyched about this chapter! So i'll get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: IMAA is not mine! I will never own it!**

Pepper awoke to a hand over her mouth. Her eyes flew open in panic and she tried to scream, but the hand just clamped tighter around her mouth. Successfully shutting her up. She couldn't do much else with her hands and feet tied up. Though, she could tell that it was one of the Maggia men. She tried to struggle, but found it useless as someone joined and held her still.

A long and possibly dirty rag was tied around her mouth as a gag. She tried to spit it out, but as much as she tried, it was tied too tightly. She was pulled to her knees and she looked around. Ghost stood a few feet away eying Tony who was still asleep. Though, she noticed that he had a few new cuts on his back.

She glared at Ghost.

"I knew you were a feisty one." Ghost said. "Always the red heads."

She glared even more.

"Anyways," Ghost started. "Stark isn't being a good boy so, I think we'll teach him not too."

Pepper broke her glare only to take a look at the others in the room. Still asleep and seemingly unharmed. She hoped they weren't harmed. Rhodey lay facing away as Howard lay facing the fireplace they were seated by.

"Don't worry." Ghost said noticing her worry. "I haven't touched them…yet."

She glared again.

"Oh, I can already tell you're going to be a fun one!"

Ghost walked over to her and twisted his hand into her hair and pulled. She screamed through the rag, and held onto his arm to lessen the force, but stopped when she was kicked in the side, winded. She was literally pulled by the hair, across the floor to where it was freezing cold. Her elbows scraped against the floor along the way, cutting them open to the bitter air.

"Here should be just about right." Ghost said as he let go off her hair.

She had tears running down her face, but she wiped them off with her shoulder. She would not let this man see her cry. He would not get that satisfaction. Then she thought of Tony. Maybe this is why he fought Ghost so much. Why he held back. For the shame of showing emotion in front of Ghost. She understood now. This had to be why he didn't tell them. He didn't want to show Ghost that he was worried. He didn't want to make a big deal out of it. Make a scene as some would say.

She shivered. He exposed arms and bare feet were freezing and she was amazed at just how cold it was in there. Especially when just a few days ago, it was pretty warm outside. She felt like her arms were stuck in ice. They burned. Her throat was already drying up. She understood why Tony couldn't talk.

She noticed Ghost was messing around with something. Twirling it in circles, twisting it into his own thumb, and tossing it up in the air. It was still dark, and the lights were still turned off so she could only guess what it was that he was playing around with.

In a flash she saw a blur just before she felt her left thigh burning up, soaking in the process. She cried out before gasping as she pretty much chocked on air. She looked down to where a blade was plunged deeply into her thigh. She paled.

She bit her tongue hard, but only lasted a minute before Ghost started to wiggle the knife back and forth while he untied her gag. She screamed a high pitched scream, unable to last all that long.

…

Tony jolted awake when he heard screams. Frantically, forgetting about his knee, he shot up into a sitting position only to cry out in pain and hold his knee with a wince. He held it for a moment so the pain would go away before he saw his dad and Rhodey sit up startled.

They both looked to him expecting it to be him, but Tony already forgotten about them. He knew who was missing. It was Pepper. His Pepper was in pain. He looked around frantically. There. Ghost stood, kneeling in front of a female silhouette. It was still dark out, but Tony forced his eyes to adjust.

"Pepper?" He called out with a raspy, tired voice.

Her screams stopped and Tony half expected her to start up again. Luckily, she didn't. Ghost just pulled the knife out of her leg that Tony noticed, and walked over to Tony. He laughed as he now stood over the now wide awake teen.

"Thought that'd wake you up." Ghost sneered.

"What do you want?" Tony demanded.

"Like I said before; revenge."

Tony was glaring at Ghost with pure hatred and disgust. He was mentally trying to burn holes into the white suited criminal. Ghost laughed again.

"You should get a look at yourself, Stark. You're a pathetic excuse for a genius who runs off of emotions and hormones. You think yourself mature enough to protect your friends, your family. I think you're doing a wonderful job at that." Ghost paused and laughed again. "I just think it's awfully ironic. The last time we met, you remember that don't you?"

Tony glared even more, if that was possible. He would not answer Ghost. He would not.

"The last time we met, the special ability I have that helps me beat you all those times, didn't seem to work. So I lost that fight. And now, that new Extremis thing you've got, seems to also be out of order. Which is why you lost this fight. Why you couldn't save your family. At least I'm not some wretched teen who can't even protect his girlfriend."

Ghost scoffed and walked over to Rhodey. "Like this one for example. He's not a girlfriend, but he's basically your brother. If I were you, I wouldn't want anything to harm him." Ghost pulled out a different knife.

"Don't you touch him." Tony snapped out.

"Oh, you don't like me this close to him?" Ghost asked.

Rhodey was glaring at Ghost as he leaned away from him.

Tony on the inside was flat out panicking. His mind was everywhere not really sure what to think. His stomach was churning as he looked over to Pepper. His Pepper. Who was bent over holding her knee as she cried. Ghost hurt her. He wouldn't know what to if Pepper died. And Rhodey? His dad? If they had all died, and it was because of him, he'd never forgive himself. He'd never want to live on. He'd never be able to. He was shaking in anger and slightly in pain. His back burned and his chest and arms were on fire. He could almost imaging flame bursting from his chest.

A sound of protest brought Tony from his thoughts. He looked over to Rhodey who was being lifted by the front of his sweater. Howard tried to help, but the Maggia men grabbed hold of him.

"This will be fun." Ghost said.

Ghost dragged the knife across Rhodey's cheek, blood spilling over. He didn't make any noise, but winced. Ghost then threw Rhodey down and at the same time slashed at his right shoulder. Rhodey yelped out, and held his arm, but didn't do anything else.

"What is wrong with you two? Why don't you scream?"

Tony almost laughed. He would have if Rhodey wasn't hurt.

"Maybe I can you to scream again Tony." Ghost said. "But not in pain, but in loss."

Tony felt sick to his stomach at those words. He was thinking desperately, but nothing came up. Nothing helped. They were all he had left. Without them, he'd be alone again. Just like he was after his mom died. Or the plane crash. He'd felt so alone, but right now, he was about to lose them all in one day. Just because he couldn't protect his family. Just because he was too pathetic to save them.

He didn't want to lose them. He didn't want to even think about it, but somewhere deep in his mind, was telling him that this was the end. He didn't want to believe it.

Ghost walked up to Pepper who was still sobbing to herself as she held her leg. She didn't want to cry, she didn't want to seem weak. She was strong. But the thought of Tony dying in front of her because of her, was unbearable. If he were to die, she wouldn't be able to handle it. She wouldn't want to live with that kind of guilt. She forced herself to stop her crying as soon as she heard footsteps walking towards her.

Tony paled and his stomach churned as he watched Ghost approach Pepper with the Knife in his hands. Tony could only watch and that made him sick. He could feel his breath shudder and break as he breathed in what seemed like poison, but he wasn't that lucky. It was only plain old rusty air that smelled of oil and mud.

Just as Ghost got to Pepper, he threw the knife as far as he could across the room. Tony could only watch in horror as Ghost pulled out his gun.

"Stop it! Don't you touch her Ghost!" Tony shouted as loud as his sore throat would allow him. "Stop!"

Tony could tell Ghost was smiling under that mask of his. It sure pissed him off that Ghost had the audacity to smile at a time like this. It just wasn't right. It was sick.

Ghost laughed. "Still not enough, kid."

Tony clenched his fists together. "Why are you doing this!?"

"Revenge." Ghost said as he loaded and cocked his gun.

Ignoring the pain in his kneed she struggled to try to get out of the chains binding him to no avail. He was stuck. He didn't want to watch as Ghost aimed his gun that was ready to fire to Pepper's head. She was staring at Tony with terrified eyes, begging for help. For a savior, a hero. He wanted to look away. He had to, but just as he saw Ghost's finger flex on the trigger, there was a loud crash followed by a giant dust cloud.

Then there was a gun shot.

**CLIFFHANGER! HA! HA HA HA! Ooh, this has got to be one of my most evil cliffhangers. I don't know, but its got to be one of them. HEHEE! ****Anyways, did you like it? It was good right? If i was talking to you guys right now, i'd be bouncing up and down energetically and laughing like mad. I'm in a weird mood where everything is funny. HA! **

**Oooh! I watched Rise of the Guardians and it was AWESOME! One of THE best movies EVAH!**

**Fun Fact: _When i sleep, i sometimes wake up in the oddest of places. Such as, the bathtub, my laundry basket, under my table, or in my brothers bed. And i've once fallen off of a bunk bed and landed on a stereo that had its antenna up. OUCH! it really hurt. _**

**_Okay, so I'm going to go now! So, um BYA!_**

**_P.S. And Baby Phase should be up by tomorrow if i don't get distracted. I swear, I keep saying that i'm going to finish that one, but then just as i open it up, some has to show me something, go somewhere, or watch a movie, or i find music videos on youtube and get distracted...but if i get time tomorrow, I'm going to work until its finished, which isn't long, since i'm on the last few paragraghs. _**

**_Well Bya for now! For real!_**


	9. Chapter 9

**So, here it is! The chapter you've all been waiting for! It would have been sooner, but i had a sleepover. AND it came sooner, because i was supposed to go out of town today, but my parents decided that i had better things to do at home. So, yay! **

**Disclaimer: IMAA is not mine, nor will it ever be. **

Tony coughed as the dust and rubble fell over them. He almost immediately stopped when he heard Pepper scream. He waved his hands through the air to clear some dust out of the way so he could see. When he did, saw Pepper, no Ghost, curled up away from what looked like a bullet hole in the ground. He couldn't tell if she was hit or not, but he still sighed in relief.

But then, where's Ghost?

He looked around to find Ghost but paused to cough some more.

"Pepper are you alright?" He called.

She coughed. "Yeah, just grazed my arm."

The weight that had settled over his heart lifted. She was okay. He didn't have to worry about her at the moment, so he went back to looking for Ghost. He spotted him laid flat on his back holding his side. Nearby, another figure lay. He narrowed his eyes to see what it was that came crashing in. Whoever it was, just saved their lives. Or at least Pepper's because he wasn't moving anymore. Maybe whoever it was passed out…

"Tony!" Rhodey's voice shouted. It sound happy.

"Yeah?" He responded.

"You did it!" Rhodey cheered.

Tony stared at him confusedly and looked to his dad who had the same look as Rhodey. They both looked happy and excited. What did he do? What did he do that he wasn't aware of? He didn't remember doing anything other than lay there useless.

"What?"

"The armor! You used Extremis right? That's the armor!" Rhodey shouted.

Tony blinked. Could it be? "What?" He repeated.

It couldn't be. Extremis wasn't working. Every time he tried to use it, his mind seemed to blank. How was his armor here? Was there someone in it other than himself? Was someone controlling it? He narrowed his eyes. What if this was a Shield Clone? Hammer? Possible Stane- no that couldn't work, Stane was in a coma. It couldn't be Extremis.

"Didn't you use Extremis?"

Tony shook his aching head. "No…not that I know off…"

He looked over to the second figure, his armor, with shock. It saved him. No, it saved her. Too bad it could get up and fight for them. Unless he could find a way to use Extremis by will that is. He stared at it, willing Extremis to work. And…it did!

It moved towards him. A bit too fast, but still. He controlled it to remove the chains around his feet and as he eyed Ghost worriedly, he started to panic as he saw him getting up. He urged the armor to go faster and soon enough, he was free.

He smiled as he felt the armor wrap itself around him. Though, he groaned in pain as the armor straightened his knee out. He almost couldn't hold in the pain, but he tried his best. No matter how much it hurt, he wasn't about to let pain stop him.

"I see you're fully functional again." Ghost commented once he was recovered.

Tony didn't reply. He just focused on getting his leg used to the pressure of standing on it once he got enough strength to actually stand. It hurt like mad, maybe even worse than a failing heart implant. Though, he just grit his teeth, biting his tongue in the process.

"Armor, lock position of my right leg." Tony said planning on using the armor like a cast. Or at least something to keep his knee sturdy enough to hold him up to fight.

'Locking position.' The female computer voice responded.

He couldn't help but sigh in comfort of the sound. He saw Ghost walking closer and balled his fists. He fired up his boot jets and flew into the air with a jerk. He winced. Even the bottoms of his feet burned from the contact with the boots.

"Flying away won't save your friends, kid." Ghost said pulling out his gun.

"Who said anything about flying away?" Tony questioned.

He shot his repulsors towards Ghost who just went intangible. He fired a few more times before Ghost landed a shot on his shoulder and he went flying back. Using his boot jets, he prevented any crash, but brought great pain to his leg. He groaned a bit too loud.

"Hurts doesn't it?" Ghost laughed. "That's sad. Even with your armor, you're weak, pathetic, and sad."

"I can't imagine what makes you think I'm weak. Normal people probably wouldn't even last this long. You've got to admit, I'm stronger than you think." Tony said firing again.

…

Pepper watched helplessly as captive and victim fought restlessly. It almost looked like Tony didn't even have a bad knee, but she knew better than to think that. She heard his pain each time his leg was hit or moved. She could hardly even imagine what he must be feeling. But then again, she couldn't exactly concentrate with the stab wound in her leg. She felt lightheaded, but she still felt better off than Tony. A broken knee…it just sounded so disturbing to her.

So…painful.

She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think about that. She paused the instant she felt her ropes slip from her hands from the blood. She grinned as she eyed the spectating Maggia man next to her. She sneakily removed the ropes around her ankles and bit her lip in preparation.

'Better now than never.' She thought to herself and she launched herself at the Maggia man. She punched him directly in the nose and he cried out in pain holding his nose. She quickly swung her unwounded leg under his legs and tripped him. She pushed his head down at the same time, knocking him out cold.

She smiled. "Beat by a girl, now that's pathetic."

She heard two laughs as she straightened herself.

"Pepper! Look out!" Rhodey and Howard called out.

She ducked just in time to miss a punch that was thrown at her head. She laughed. She stood straight up again and delivered her best high kick she could muster with her leg, only reaching the lower chest of one of the two Maggia men. Still, he was thrown back into the other and she used her ropes to tie them up after giving them both strong punches.

She quickly made her way to the other two and untied them both before the last three showed up. She pretty much collapsed out of lightheadedness, leaving Rhodey and Howard to fend them off. She closed her eyes for one moment and the next thing she knew, she was throw over someone's shoulder and was being carried off into a different direction to where Tony was. She would have freaked out if she hadn't recognized Tony's scent in his father.

"H-Howard?" She stuttered.

"It's alright, we're going to go get help for Tony." Howard said.

"Yeah," Rhodey began. "Plus, you're not quite able to walk with that leg."

She didn't really reply, because her mind was already elsewhere. Were they really escaping? Were they really walking out of the freezing mad house alive? She couldn't help but feel relieved. But that didn't last long when there was a crashing sound and a figure flew by their heads.

"TONY!" Pepper screamed out in concern.

"What?" He responded just above them.

Confused, Pepper looked up. Howard had switcher her from over his shoulder to bridal style. Which was definitely awkward for her. There Tony was, flying over their heads. Shocked, she looked over to where the other form lay. It was Ghost who was holding his shoulder in pain.

She smiled. Nothing to be worried about, right?

…

Tony timed it perfectly. That's how he hit him. It was timed just right, and it hit Ghost mid-change to becoming intangible. Sent him flying out of the building too. He flew protectively over his escaping families head. Good, his dad didn't make Pepper walk. Oh how he wished he didn't' have to.

He frowned the moment he started to feel dizzy, but passed it off as nothing but hunger. He looked to Ghost who was standing up, still holding his gun. He raised his arm and fired his repulsors again. Ghost dodged it just in time.

"You have got to do better than that, kid." Ghost said.

With that, he fired in the direction of his friends and he rushed to lift them up away from harm. That was a little too close for him. Ghost was going too far.

"Ghost!" He demanded as he set them back down. "Leave them out of this."

He took a quick sec to look around and noticed they were in what seemed like a construction site that was next to two warehouses. Trying to think quickly, he flew upwards and did a nose dive as he fired his repulsors repeatedly at Ghost. Some of them hit, and some of them missed. Though, he was still thrown back, so Tony quickly made his way to ghost.

Not wasting his time, he lifted Ghost by the front of his shirt. Using the best leverage he could get with his knee, he shoved Ghost into the wall of one of the warehouses. "Ghost, you finished. Now tell me, what are you doing this for? What did _they _do to you?"

Ghost laughed, causing Tony to tighten his grip. "Kid, I've already told you. Revenge. Have you forgotten, I can't be touched?"

Tony started to feel Ghost slip away from his fingers and acting quickly, he shot his unibeam at Ghost, successfully hitting Ghost against, no through, the wall. He was about to walk through the hole in the wall, when a large beam of light came shooting at him, hitting him directly in the chest. He felt a searing pain in his chest, but when he crashed to the ground, the pain was unbearable in his knee. So he let out another scream.

He forced himself to stop and stand up, though he felt that if he was hit with another one of whatever it was, he wouldn't be standing up.

"You're good, I'll give you that." Ghost said forming himself from the ground. "But, who's the one with all those injuries?"

Tony raised his arms ready to fire, but Ghost turned himself invisible. He listened as Ghosts voice echoed through the area as he circled Tony. At least that's what Tony thought he was doing. It sounded like it.

"You must feel horrible. I can't imagine what you're thinking in that head of yours, but I can guess that you hate that you can't save your own family. Their forced to sit and watch you die. Sit and watch you fight for your pathetic life." There was a pause as Tony heard a ringing sound. "You think you're a hero? Think again. You're not a hero, if you can't save your own family. You're not a hero, if you can't even save yourself."

In a flash, Tony was flying from a hit to the back. He winced from impact. He heard the computer say something about failing systems, but he didn't hear it very well. He stood right back up, glad it wasn't anything too bad. He turned around to see Ghost walking up to him with his gun aimed. He didn't waste time firing it, but Tony turned his shield on.

Tony fired at him a few times, missing. Though, when Ghost got too close he fire his sonic disrupters causing Ghost to stop and hold his ears, giving Tony and opening to fire his unibeam. He then walked over to him and as he was getting up, he fired another sonic disruptor. He held it on him until he noticed Ghost's body go limp.

Once he was sure that Ghost wasn't getting up, he sighed and fell backwards, exhausted. He closed his eyes intending to sleep. Rhodey would know what to do. The last thing his heard, was his name being shouted.

…

Pepper watched as Tony defeated Ghost. She sighed in relief. It was finally over. Though, she stopped when she saw Tony falling down. Ignoring any pain in her leg, she ran towards him along with the others.

"TONY!" She screamed worriedly with the others.

She bent down next to him and opened the face mask. His eyes were closed and his face was pale. Worried, she looked for signs of life, a pulse or breath. She was relieved to find both. But they were faint. Rhodey crouched down next to her and he did something to retract the armor back to a back pack.

"He'll be okay Pepper." He said as he stood up.

"What do we do?" She questioned.

"Well, someone should bring Tony to the hospital and someone should turn Ghost in." Howard said.

Rhodey nodded. "I'll turn ghost in. You two can help Tony."

The two nodded and Howard picked Tony up in his arms. He smiled with a chuckle as they began walking.

"What?" Pepper asked as she heard Rhodey fly off.

"It's nothing, just never thought I'd hold Tony like this again."

Pepper laughed lightly. She limped on her leg until they were able to hail a taxi. Which it took some convincing to get the driver to allow them to ride, because of the blood. Though, with a high tip from Howard, they were quick to get to the hospital.

**I admit, i'm not impressed, but how was it? It was especially hard writing the fight scene, because of Ghost's ability and i just suck at it anyways...-.- But, I tried hard and i hope you guys liked it! :)**

**Fun Fact: _I have glasses and i love dying my hair. Simple enough..._**

**Okay, this is sorta off subject, but can you help me? If so, I'm trying to make a superhero for a story, but I cannot figure out a name! I'm horrible with names. So, i thought i'd ask you. So, i've looked things up and they say to use the discription or type of character to help name them, but I cannot for the life of me, figure out a name. So, Here's some backround info:**

**-18 years old**

**-Blind**

**-Has Aura Absorption, Which is the power to see aura's and take the lives and powers of others.**

**So any ideas? Please can any of you help me with a name? **

_**Well, til next time!**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello readers and fellow authors! :) I've come to you with a VERY long chapter! :) I'm sorry for the WEEK long break! I don't think i told you guys this, but that week when i last posted this, i wasn't feeling all that good. So, i've had a terrible cough and stuffy nose all week and i was falling asleep the instant i got home from school. And yesterday, my friend was over again, when my stomach was hurting like _crazy_ i felt like wrapping up in a ball and crying or screaming or something. It hurt so bad...(personal info i know...but whatever i don't care.) Plus it doesn't help, that I've become addicted to Skyrim...**

**Well, anyways, the beginning is a bit weird, but i hope its good. Some parts seemed rushed is because i was writing with another stomach ache. OW. And you MUST remember...I am NO doctor, so don't get smart with me when you see something you know is obviously wrong.  
**

**Disclaimer: IMAA is not mine, nor with it ever be.**

As many times as she repeated it to herself, she could not, for the life of her, believe it. She tried many times to tell herself that he was going to be okay, but failed every time. She knew she was probably over reacting and that he was going to be fine. After all, she and Rhodey were out of the hospital in a matter of hours. She herself was held in a bit longer due to the doctors worrying that the blade hit a major vein or artery.

So, she limped out of the hospital with tons and tons of stitches, pain meds, and a small cast that was removable and able to be placed over her pants. Easily hidden under her usual attire. Rhodey was waiting for her with a stitched up cheek and arm. Roberta had come to pick them up to hang out at Rhodey's house until Howard came with further news on how Tony was. After all, she had waited with Rhodey before Roberta stopped by for hours just waiting for the surgery to be done, only to find out there was going to be at least three different surgery procedures.

Figuring it was best for her health, Rhodey convinced her to visit him at his house after she called her dad who was still out of town, but promised to come home within the next day or two.

Now, she lay face up on Rhodey's bed while he did homework to busy his own busy and worried mind. She pretended that the white ceiling was clouds and that she was flying through the air in Tony's arms, touching the clouds. But the heavy weight of her body and the bed beneath her were all too real. Her mind seemed to wander from time to time.

Once moment it would be in the clouds, the next it was 6 feet under. Or it would be in space or even a different universe entirely, causing her to miss many things Rhodey had said to her. She might have missed a few phone calls or so, but when she focused enough to check, they were all from Happy or her dad. Both wondering if she was okay or where she was.

"You're going to have to move sometime." Rhodey's voice sounded.

She groaned saying she 'heard' him, but he knew she hadn't understood him. She was half asleep and in her own world. She wasn't going to understand a word he said. So, with a sigh, he picked her up and carried her out to Tony's old room. When he set her down on the bed, all she did was roll onto her stomach. He shrugged, said goodnight, and left to go to bed himself.

Pepper now imagined she was at a beach, but that quickly turned into a nightmare as she suddenly felt as if she was being pulled under. She felt the heavy reminder in her heart that said that Tony wasn't there to pull her out of it at the time.

Roberta came in not long later after she had realized Pepper was still awake. "Pepper?"

Pepper noticed the woman was carrying something. Pills? "You should take some pain medication. Your leg could get infected without it."

Pepper mumbled something into the pillow, but sat up anyways, accepting the pill and water. Still not able to sleep, Pepper began imagining what it would be like when he was better. Would it be like it was before? Would they still be fighting? Would they still be in an argument? Was she even still mad? Was he mad? What about Rhodey? Was he mad?

Her mind fired up with all sorts of questions. She wasn't even sure what she was so mad about. Cause really, he was just trying to protect them. Right? Maybe he was just being a bit self-confident. No. Sure, he might think he was unbeatable sometimes, but even he knew his limits. Unless he was mentally unstable like when he fought Gene. Or when He injected himself with Extremis or maybe the time Anton Harkov backstabbed Tony to get data help from Stane.

With only a few thoughts in her head, she finally passed out from exhaustion.

…

The next morning, Pepper woke up to her phone ringing. She didn't answer it though. She felt heavy in her bed, but it didn't smell like her bed. It didn't smell like her house at all, but strangely, of Tony and Rhodey. She sat up wincing as she moved her thigh.

She lay in Tony's room. Well, his old one at least. Remarkably it still smelt like him. She loved that smell, though sometimes it was a very smelly, unhygienic type of smell, but when it was clean, it was one of the best smells. Only because she felt safe whenever she was around him.

She picked up her phone. Turned out she slept in past noon. She panicked at first thinking she had to go to school, but remembered that not only was it a Saturday, her dad pretty much gave her three days off of school to get settled and comfy and used to the time, since in the warehouse, there wasn't really any clock so she never went to bed at the right time.

She also had a bazillion texts and missed calls. She read the texts and listened to the messages that were left. She wasn't exactly too happy about doing so. Mainly because Rhodey had called and left a message pertaining to Tony's condition. Turns out he was put on a medically induced coma due to the spread of an infection in his chest and feet, which they had found out were burnt.

She was also informed that it was likely that he was already going into a coma like state when the doctors decided to put him in a medically induced coma instead. So, now she had to wait even longer until she could see those blue eyes again.

For the rest of the day, she hung out with Rhodey at the hangout, ate, and read a book. She slept over again, since her dad wasn't home yet, and she didn't feel like going to an empty house.

The next morning, she ate, then went straight to the hospital. She had to wait for visiting hours to begin, but she didn't care. She just waited in the lounge area, snacking on vending machine chips. Once visiting hours opened, she made her way to the room she was directed to.

Inside lay Tony hooked up to an IV cord and a few other things she couldn't identify. Either way, she felt heavy weighted in the heart when she saw the thick cast upon his knee and the many stitches that covered most of his chest and arms. His right leg was being held up like those times she's seen in movies.

She sat down next to him and almost the instant she sat down, she grabbed his hand. "Please be okay."

She noticed his chest was still red, but she told herself that it was fine, and that the doctors were treating the infection. On the plus side, it was more of a light red or pinkish color. So that had to be good.

For hours she sat there with nothing better to do. She read her book, forced herself to eat lunch and call Rhodey, who came and accompanied her, and took a healthy nap. When she awoke, she was told that visiting hours were done and that she had to go home. Which, he dad had called, and he was home so she went to her own home.

"How's your day been?" He asked her when she arrived home.

"Uneventful." She replied grabbing something to eat.

"Nothing exciting going on at the hospital?"

"Dad, he's in a coma, he's not much fun when he's not awake." Pepper said. "Plus, I was asleep half the time."

"So…" He dad began. "How's the leg?"

She looked down to her leg that was stabbed. "Doing fine, I took my meds before I left."

"That's good to hear." Virgil said.

Pepper got up and put her garbage away and started to go to her room before her dad grabbed her wrist. "Pepper."

"What?"

"I'm sure Tony will be fine. If he's half as strong as I hear he is, he'll definitely make it. Just give him the break time he needs." Virgil said seriously. "I just want you to know that even though he might not physically be here, but he's definitely still alive and here."

She smiled lightly. "I know."

She really did know, but even still, she couldn't help but worry. She couldn't help but fear the worse would happen. Otherwise, what else would she think of? She had to think of something and apparently that was something that she happened to think of a lot.

…

A few weeks later, Rhodey and Pepper were on the roof of the school eating. Pepper was chattering on about some school project, then switched to iron man activity. (Which was really War Machine activity) Once the news spread that Iron man had officially 'disappeared', crime literally spiked.

Criminals thought since iron man wasn't fighting, that they had a free pass to rob any bank, steal any jewelry they could find, or kill any person, but they must have forgotten that iron man wasn't alone. So, they would be so pumped to finally accomplish their crime, only to be put in jail by war machine. Though, they must have also assumed, Rescue 'disappeared' as well, because they seem to think that one 'iron man' isn't so bad. As long as it's not the original iron man.

Seriously, she thought it was a bit unfair. The public and the criminals all believed that War machine Rescue were weak compared to Iron man. Sure, it was sort of true, but that didn't mean that they were weak, they just didn't have as much experience or weren't as smart when it came to fighting, but that did not mean they were weak.

"Think it's going to be another busy day?" Pepper questioned.

"I don't know, I haven't heard of anything major happening today, so maybe tonight there will be something." Rhodey replied. "Either way, I don't care."

Pepper sighed. "What about you're Shields?"

Rhodey blinked. "Oh yeah…I forgot about that…"

In a previous fight, War machines shields broke down. If he was to go out now, he'd probably get himself hurt. He had expected Tony to have woken up by the time he had to go out and fight again, but no.

"I could ask Howard for help and use Tony's armor until he wakes up." He suggested.

"Can you use his armor? I mean, the weight and speed difference?" Pepper said.

"Well, it can't be all that bad." Rhodey said just as the door to the roof opened.

The two teens stopped talking and looked over to the doorway. Two people walked in; Roberta and the Principal. They watched as the two got closer and closer to them.

"Mom? Is something wrong?" Rhodey asked questioningly.

"No, but the doctor called, and I think he wants to share some news with you two." Roberta said.

Pepper nor Rhodey could read Roberta's expression. They couldn't tell if she was worried or excited. Meaning, they couldn't tell if it was good news or bad news. So, they would just have to hope for the best and go along with it.

"Are we going to the hospital now…or…?" Pepper asked questionably.

"Mrs. Rhodes has asked for permission to bring you two out of class and to the hospital right away." The principal said. "And I agreed, that that is a very good reason to dismiss you two. Plus, I'm worried about the kid. Tell me how he is if you can."

Rhodey and Pepper blinked and shared a look. "Okay…we will."

The principal nodded and together Roberta led them, (after they got their bags) outside to Roberta's car. Soon enough, they were heading to the hospital.

…

At the hospital, they were standing in front of Tony's hospital room after they met up with Howard who was also called. The doctor was waiting for them to arrive and was ready to share whatever news he had.

"The news I have for you is very important, but I think it's better to show you." The doctor said.

Pepper narrowed her eyes suspiciously. Like Roberta, his face was unreadable. Though, his face almost always looked gloomy or sad, so she was having trouble telling what his emotion was. Sighing in slight annoyance, she followed the group as they all followed the doctor as he slowly walked in the room.

The instant they all got in, they gasped and once Pepper first got a glimpse inside, she almost passed out. She felt weak to the knees and she felt severe butterflies in her stomach. Her fingers shook as her lips crept into a smile.

There he was.

Sitting up.

Eyes open.

_Awake!_

She gasped, almost choking, and rushed as fast as she could in the small space and squeezed him in a hug. Quick to release him, she was just as speedy to mash her lips against his own. She felt Tony stiffen in shock as he gasped against her lips. She lingered there for about ten seconds before one of them backed off for breath.

She was about to give him another hug, but the doctor lightly pulled her away. "Give him some space, he just woke up a little bit ago."

"Tony. You're awake." Was all she could get out. She paid no attention to the doctor, but gave the genius his needed space.

Tony smiled at her tiredly. Which, she didn't understand why he was tired. He's been asleep for weeks. Either way, she was just happy he was awake.

"Good to see you awake, man." Rhodey said smiling as he walked next to Pepper. Secretly, he was celebrating in his head that Pepper actually kissed him.

"Good to _be _awake." Tony replied.

The family and friends finished their reunion and the doctor stepped up, (not literally) to say something.

"He actually woke up a few hours ago, as we had planned. You're parents already knew, but decided to keep the surprise." The doctor begun. "We took him off the medically induced coma last night after Miss Potts left and he's been stirring all night long. And as expected, woke up for some tests."

"What kind of tests?" Pepper asked.

"Nothing much, just wondering if he could talk, see, hear, that kind of thing. And we took some x-rays of his knee, gave him pain meds, replaced some bandages and change his cast to a more mobilized one, since it pretty much already healed itself. We didn't need to take out any stitches, since we did that last week as you already know." The doctor replied.

Pepper nodded. "Thanks."

"From the looks of it, we should only need him here for one more day, so he can be signed of tomorrow." The doctor said turning to face Howard. "Oh, and be sure to get a wheel chair and crutches for him. Even as healed as the bone might be, it still would probably be painful to walk on it."

"Okay, I'll be sure to do that." Howard replied.

The doctor sighed contently. "I think that's all I have to say, and you guys can visit now, I'll get out of your way."

They smiled at him as he walked out before focusing all their attention to Tony, who was yawning.

"How do you feel, son?" Howard asked.

Tony looked to his dad standing at the foot of his bed. "Sore, but well. Nice and warm."

He looked over to Pepper. He still had that look of shock, but he seemed confused. Which, she completely understood. Which is also why she is still blushing and ranting at herself in her head, asking herself why was she so stupid? Sure, she missed him, but she acted a bit impulsively.

But, he smiled at her. "Hey Pep."

"Oh no." Rhodey started. "I feel a moment going on…"

"Then let's give them privacy." Roberta said guiding Rhodey out of the room with Howard tailing them.

Pepper noticed the others leave, and blushed even more. Her face felt like it was on fire and she tried to look away, but it was hard to hide when she was sitting on side of his bed. A hand under her chin forced her to look in his eyes.

"Pep, I missed you." Tony whispered.

Pepper bit her lip. "I did too."

Tony smiled and hugged her, his hand running through her hair. "I'm so happy…to see you…alive." He said between a yawn. "And Pep?"

She backed away a bit. "Yeah."

Tony pulled her closer to him for a kiss. Now, it was her turn to be surprised, but she went along with it and kissed him back. Her hands were in his hair while his were on her back. Every touch between them was like electricity. They pulled apart and blushed.

Tony looked into her brown eyes. "I love you."

Her eyes widened. "What!?"

Tony looked down for a moment. "I hadn't realized it before…but I think…that I already did. I think I've loved you for as long as I remember…I don't know when I realized it, but I do. I love you. I love you, Pepper Potts."

With a blush, Pepper replied: "And I love you too."

"You know…back at the warehouse…" He pause not wanting to think about it. "When Ghost was…hurting you…and Rhodey…I felt something. I know I felt more angry and desperate, but I think I felt strong. As weak as I was. I felt, that since I was fight for you guys, for you, I could do anything. I wasn't about to die on you guys…I wasn't about to let you guys die."

Pepper sighed at the memory of the event. She hugged Tony for a moment and gave him a soft kiss.

"Pep?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm going to ask you a question." Tony started. "If it's alright with your dad, will you be my girlfriend?"

At first she was startled at the gentleman gesture, she smiled. "Of course."

…

**Cheesy enough for you? HA, i bet you saw the whole thing coming. ONE more chapter people :( I'd be both happy and sad. Happy because now, i can get more requests (if you have any) AND guess what!? I'd be moving back to my other stories! (namely...Sins of Insanity...) Baby phase will probably be my next project though, but with my plans to be more detailed with that one, i will not focus on just that. After this, I'm going back to my old routine. RANDOM POSTING. ;)****  
**

**Fun Fact: _I'm allergic to the seeds in Kiwi's, but i eat them anyways because i don't react too bad...plus their to dang tasty not to eat._**

**Well, i hope you enjoyed this long chapter, and i hope to post the last chapter soon! :) And if you have any quick requests for the ending, I'd love to hear it, so it doesn't end too cheesy or bad.**

**From here on down, I'm just babbling to you guys about random things, that i have no one else to say them to, so if you don't want to read no more, or don't like senseless babbling, you are more than welcome to stop reading now. **

_**So, have any of you seen the movie, Treasure Planet? If not, you should find a way to watch it! Its a really good movie! I watched it today on Netflix, and it was really good! **_

_**Do any of you guys like or watch PewDiePie? If so, have any of you watched the video's he's made of him playing games with Smosh or Cry? They are SOOOO funny! XD I love them! I watched This one where their playing GTA and they hacked it or something and turned into a Giraffe, an elephant, and a horse! It was really funny!**_

_**My little brother the other day maybe it was actually the other week, but anyways, my little brother was running around with spiderman gloves on and pretended to web me. Then he stopped and said i had to fight back because i was iron man. Then he went on with webbing me, as i pretended to fire lazer-repulsor things at him and we ended up "killing" each other it was fun. AND he followed through with it and asked to watch a bunch of IMAA video's together! :) I'm just really happy because all my friends just stare at me like "Hahaha you're dumb, you like Marvel, you like Iron man!" And i just stand there all sad because they don't like me blabbering on about IMAA. HA I can be very annoying...but really no one, but me in my little group of friends like IMAA...**_

_**Any one of you seen the new Iron man 3 trailer!? IT IS AMAZING, AWESOME, GOOSEBUMPS GIVING, EXCITING, AMAZING (yes i said that twice.) EPIC! I absolutely CANNOT WAIT! XD Though, i'm also really sad because RDJ might not be iron man anymore. There's been tons of talks of them Killing off iron man. (Movie one, not IMAA one) But, yeah...it's not going to be fun the day i actually find out...**_

_**One more thing...**_

_**If i take some unplanned, unexcused break for a unreasonably time...it's probably because I'm still sick, or I'm stressed from not seeing my dad in FOREVER. The last time i saw him was in December for a funeral, and he was crying half the time, and busy with the other family members...:( Plus my Great Grandma had passed away right before Christmas...(you guys already knew i think...but still) and that was the FIRST major loss I've had that was in my immediate family. So, you can imagine how i feel/felt. Plus, we ALWAYS went to their house for Christmas, Thanksgiving, AND Easter, but now, we aren't going anymore...so...yeah...and school is being a pain since next years my first year in high school...  
**_

**Well, i'm done. Hope you didn't get too bored for those of you that stuck around. BYE! Don't forget to review!  
**


	11. Chapter 11

**So, here it is...t****he last chapter! :) :( Its VERY long! I think it's pretty good! I sure loved writing it!...well at least the last half of it...:) I really feel proud of this chapter!**

**I don't know if i ever mentioned the identity of Iron man in any of the chapters...but if i did, i'm not sure what i said...but in this chapter, i wrote it like it was still a secret so you know. no one knows who iron man is, except for Howard and Roberta (though i don't think i ever mentioned her knowing...) But she does. **

**Disclaimer: IMAA is not mine. Nor will it ever be... (stick around at the end for some shout outs!)**

* * *

The next day after Tony was signed off, they were hanging out at the armor. Rhodey was still trying to catch up on missing work, while Pepper rolled Tony around on his wheel chair, no matter how many times he asked her not to.

"Pepper is this really necessary?" He questioned.

"Yes." She said smiling. "You're lucky to get a wheel chair for your leg. I just got a crutch that I only needed for about a week."

Tony looked down, not wanting to be reminded that Pepper had also been hurt. "So…how is your leg?"

"It's great! I don't need to take the pain meds anymore, so all is good!"

She continued to roll Tony around while Rhodey just rolled his eyes at the two. Muttering to himself that he was the only normal person in the room. Howard later on came in to work on his own thing. Which Pepper had still thought was really weird because he had Stark International labs and probably one at his house, but instead he chose to work on personal inventions in the armory. She had asked him why he decided to do that once, and he had replied that he liked working near his son, and his son was now almost constantly in the armory.

When Pepper stopped rolling Tony around, he got to work on fixing his armor and testing extremis out by forming and unforming the armor. Pepper and Rhodey soon left off to fight of killer shrike and Unicorn that were spotted robbing a bank. Leaving Tony and his father alone.

"So son, how's everything been?" Howard asked of his son.

"Good." Tony replied looking up from his armor.

"How's Pepper?"

Tony blushed as he always did when Howard brought the redhead up. "She doing great!"

"So, I hear you two are dating…" Howard said with a smirk.

"Dad!" Tony exclaimed.

"Well, I just thought since we're here, alone I could talk to you."

"If this is about 'the talk', I know _all _about it! Roberta and school made sure of it!" Tony said holding his hands up.

Howard laughed. "No not at all, I just want to tell you how proud I am of you."

"Oh…okay."

"Son, when you were just a little boy, I thought you were going to turn out just like me. Which, I feared because I had no friends growing up. I was alone and I didn't even have a girlfriend until I met your mother when I was about 19. I feared that was going to be you, which is why I always tried to get you to be friends with that Whitney kid. But now I see, that you have those two and you even got a girlfriend. And I'm proud that you found someone that loves and cares for you."

Tony bit his lip nervously. "Yeah…okay, thanks…"

Howard chuckled. "I gotta go home. See you tonight son."

The moment Howard walked out, Rhodey and Pepper came in through the tunnel place. Pepper pranced over to Tony to give him a hug as she broke into story of what happened at the bank. She explained how she beat Rhodey to the place and had even scared the two villains for a moment of her sudden appearance since they still believed she was missing. Then she went on about how she beat them with the help of Rhodey and how the city cheered her name.

Tony smiled. "Sounds exciting! I only wish I could have been there."

"You will when they remove you're cast next week." Pepper said standing up straight from bending down to hug Tony.

"Which reminds me," Tony started. "Is your dad home?"

"Yeah, he won't leave the house because he's too worried I'm going to get kidnapped again."

"Good, because I still have to ask him a question."

Pepper blushed as she remembered what Tony wanted to ask him. So, she just nodded and started to roll him out, but he just shook his head and asked for the crutches, much to her dismay. She really liked pushing him around on the chair. Either way, they both left Rhodey, who had started working on the last of his homework, to go to her house.

…

"What brings you two here?" Virgil asked yawning as he closed his laptop.

Tony took a deep breath before grabbing Pepper's hand for reassurance. "I would like to ask….um…for you your permission to…uh…" Tony paused shaking his head. "Let me start over."

Pepper laughed at Tony's loss of words, but squeezed Tony's hand telling him to go on.

"I'm asking for your permission to date you daughter." Tony said quickly.

There was a moment of silence before Virgil practically burst out laughing. "Of course you can! It's not like I can stop you! Plus, I didn't even know kids these days asked that anymore!"

"Well, some kids do!" Tony defended, blushing.

Virgil patted him on the shoulder. "Son, I'm not trying to embarrass you. I'm just happy my little girl is happy, so be good to her."

Tony sighed relieved. "I will."

Virgil yawned tiredly. "Well, I'm off to go take a nap. You two go have fun or whatever you kids do these days."

Virgil then walked off to go to sleep, while Pepper and Tony both went to go the armory again to pick up Rhodey to go hang out somewhere.

…

A couple weeks passed and Tony was more than excited to get his cast removed. Pepper and Rhodey came along with Tony and Howard to doctors as Tony had wanted. The instant the cast was officially off, Tony want to just go out and run around, but the doctors told him not to. They told him, if he were to stress it too much too fast, he could possibly have permanent damage. At least, damage adding to the limp he would now forever have. It wasn't always noticeable, but still, it stunk.

The doctors gave him one week, to take it easy. Though, they told him that every moment he got to walk, do it. Without the constant use of it, his leg was almost only skin and bone. So, the doctor told him to eat plenty, take tons of walks, stretch a lot, and if it ever got sore, he was to lay down with his leg on a pillow or couch arm or something higher than himself.

Rhodey and Pepper continued to protect the city in Tony's place until Tony was positive that his leg could take iron man again. Which was probably the worst two weeks of his life. Pepper never stopped telling him, in perfect detail, what happened if he wasn't able to watch from the controller chair. Even if he was there, she tended to tell him her point of view. Rhodey would chip in at times, mostly when he heard Pepper exaggerating about an injury or something.

So at this moment, Tony was walking with the slight limp that he was stuck with, to the armory to where his friends were meeting him. He honestly could say that he felt happier than he has in a long time. He just walked slowly, taking his time to get to the armory. He ended up thinking about what he had in life.

He had a beautiful, smart, brave girlfriend, a best friend that he would, without pause, call his brother, his dad, a woman he'd easily call mom, if it wasn't awkward to think of, a city who called him a hero and cheered him on, and he had iron man. Sure, he also have plenty of villains and people who wanted to kill him, not to mention all the near death experiences he has every so often, but that was only part of who he was. If he didn't' have villains, he wouldn't need iron man. Pepper wouldn't need Rescue, and Rhodey wouldn't need War machine.

When he arrived at the armory in a daze, his friends were already inside waiting for him. They were curious as to why Tony had called them over to urgently, only to take forever to get there himself.

"I was thinking about life, I got distracted." Tony said in excuse, which was only a half-lie.

Rhodey was seated where he normally is these days, on the couch, studying. Tony didn't blame him. There was finals going on soon, and they were going to graduate. Pepper was studying via computer while watching some reality TV she liked to watch just to annoy Rhodey. Though, she actually hated the show.

"Anyways, anything going on in town?" Tony asked giving Pepper a hug from behind.

"If you mean anything dangerous, then no, but there is going to be fireworks tonight to celebrate some political thing down on the ocean?" Pepper said, her voice 'secretly' suggesting that they go.

"On a boat or something? Sounds like fun." Tony replied. 'Secretly' agreeing.

"Yeah, so what was it that you called us hear for?" Pepper asked. "You never answered."

"Well, I thought it might be a good time, especially since there's nothing going on in town right now, to go for a ride in the armor for the first time." Tony said again hinting they do something together.

Pepper looked up over her shoulder at him, smiling. "I'd love to."

Tony gave her a quick kiss and looked over to his best friend/brother. "Rhodey would you like to come with?"

"Nah, I think I'll leave you two lovebirds alone." Rhodey said shaking his head. "It bugs me when you two start kissing or something."

As happy as he was that they were together, it was still as awkward as heck being the only single one of the three. Especially when the two got all lovey dovey with each other; kissing and all.

"You sure?" Tony asked smirking.

Rhodey just shook his head with a smile. Tony just shrugged and looked back to Pepper. "His loss."

Tony let go of Pepper and walked to the center of the armory. Just as he was about to armor up, his dad walked in. "Oh Tony, I thought you guys would be at Rhodey's house."

"Why?" Tony replied.

"Roberta told me that you guys were planning to study together today." Howard said.

"No, we changed plans." Tony said about to armor up again, but stopped when Rhodey spoke up.

"Only because Tony told us to meet at the armory instead."

Howard nodded his head in understanding and actually took the moment to look at how his son was standing. "Oh, you going in the armor again?"

"The lovebirds are going out on a date." Rhodey said not bothering to look up from his book he was studying from.

"Are not." Pepper said.

"I wanted us all to go, but you said you'd rather study." Tony said.

"Okay, fine. You guys are just going to 'hang out' until tonight when the fireworks go off, _then _it's a date." Rhodey said with a smirk.

Tony just rolled his eyes and finally used extremis to form Iron man around himself. He smiled at the familiar sound of metal connecting and electricity echoed in his ears. He loved the feeling of the armor around his body, it felt so natural, like he was born in the suit. He was born to be iron man.

When the face mask closed, the first sound was Pepper squealing in excitement. She took a small moment to clap her hands and rush over to give Tony a hug, before she went over and armored up herself.

"I'm ready." She said.

Tony nodded and gave a short wave to the other two. "Let's go."

Together, the two flew out of the armory. Tony cheering in joy the entire route.

…

"Where we headed?" Pepper said through the com. link.

"I don't know." Tony replied speeding up.

Pepper smiled and laughed as she sped up to catch up. They flew around aimlessly for a while in the setting sun. At some point Tony had grabbed Pepper's hand in one of his and started to spin the two around as they flew. He brought her along as he did some flips and other things.

"Tony, what if someone sees?" She asks.

"Who cares?" Tony said grabbing her hand again.

"I care, the whole city is below us!" She replied making them stop.

"Come on, you're going to let _that _stop you?" Tony asked. "What happened to being able to handle anything? Oh and don't forget that you were the one to tell me 'not to think of what the city thinks'."

She shook her head, but took his hand again. This time, she pulled him around in circles and twists. At some point the two ended up flying just below the roofs of some buildings. In clear sight for the citizens to just look up and see them. Which they did. They cheered as they saw their famous hero, iron man, back in action.

"I'm never going to stop loving that." He said to himself.

"I bet you won't." Pepper agreed.

He waved to the city below him, which made them cheer louder. He laughed excitedly as he saw cars and trucks stopping just to get out and wave back. Luckily, there was no crash. He smiled at Pepper when he heard them, not only cheering for iron man, but for Rescue as well. He blushed as he laughed with Pepper as they clearly heard someone, who definitely had a megaphone, shout at them to kiss.

With a shrug, the two quickly removed their face plates, and kissed. When they pulled away, their face plates were closed again. They stayed there for a minute listening to the cheers.

Tony was just appalled by how happy the city seemed to be to see him. And to see him with a girl, hand in hand, made them all the happier. Pepper was just as shocked. Though she smiled and waved, and even bowed after they kissed like it was a show.

With one final wave to the citizen of New York, the two flew off as the sun continued to set.

…

Later that night, when the fireworks started, Tony and Pepper armored down somewhere and went to where most people were. The ocean's beach. They didn't really know why, none of them said, but they ended up climbing a tree that was right before the sand started. One the plus side, the tree didn't have many leaves, so they had perfect seats for fireworks. But on the down side, they both knew it would be harder going down than it was to come up.

Pepper leaned her head on Tony's shoulder. "I just love fireworks."

Tony smiled as he tightened his protective grip around her waist. "Me too."

"I'm lucky to have you." Pepper mumbled as she looked up at the sky.

The light from one of the fireworks illuminated their faces. "And why's that?" Tony questioned.

"Because of many things. You're smart, strong, brave, handsome, and so much more. I almost ended up with Happy. I mean he's not a bad guys…just not the smartest…or bravest…" Pepper said rambling. "Plus, you make up for the boring person I am."

Tony blinked. "Pepper."

She sighed. "You're so much better than me. What do I do that is ever useful?"

"Pepper, look at me." Tony said.

But she looked away.

"Pep," He said flatly. "Patricia Potts, look at me, now!"

Reluctantly she turned her head to face him. But she didn't look in his eyes. His lifted her chin with his hand, and when he had her eyes on his, he held her face between his hands, rubbing patterns onto her cheeks with his thumbs.

"Listen to me when I say this." Tony said as the fireworks, bang dulled out. "You are beautiful, gorgeous, smart, gifted, brave, pretty…beautiful."

"You said beautiful twice." Pepper replied.

"Exactly." Tony said smiling. "You are _beautiful _and don't you ever tell yourself that you're not. And you do mean something. I wouldn't care if you were the stupidest person on the planet, I am no better than you."

Pepper opened her mouth to deny, but tony put a hand over her mouth. "No, you listen to me. You saved me from a life of loneliness, you even saved my life countless amount of times. I wouldn't be here if it weren't for you. So, don't you tell me you're useless, okay?"

He removed his hand and she nodded. "Okay."

"Okay?" Tony repeated to be sure.

"Okay!" She responded.

Tony smiled and kissed her as they heard the crackling boom of a colorful firework.

…

"Tony!" Rhodey shouted from across the house.

Tony jumped as he put the pencil he was writing with down. He currently was at Rhodey's house writing down ideas he had for inventions before he could forget them. Pepper had gone off to see her dad who was just coming home from a week long mission.

Tony ran into the kitchen where Rhodey was found, drinking milk. He held a rolled up newspaper. Tony eyed the newspaper worriedly, thinking it was something bad like madam masque pretending to be him again. Or iron man being accused of something again, or something bad about himself.

"What?" He asked as Rhodey slowly set his cup down.

"You'd never believe what's on the front page of the newspaper." Rhodey said unrolling the newspaper and sliding it across the kitchen table.

Tony picked it up cautiously. He started to read aloud: "_Iron man returns and gets personal with Rescue…_" he raised an eyebrow as he looked to the picture next to it that was of him and Pepper kissing. "I don't see the problem. You can't see our faces."

"Yeah, but when did this happen?" Rhodey asked walking over to him.

"Two days ago, when me and Pepper were out flying." Tony responded unsure where Rhodey was going.

Rhodey slipped the newspaper from Tony's hand and turned it to another page. "Okay, now what's this?"

Again, Tony started to read aloud after he saw a blurry pic of him and Pepper kissing. "_Tony Stark found kissing his best friend in a tree." _He paused. "Seriously, what's wrong? Besides, didn't the press already find out about me and Pepper?"

"Now, look at the dates of each photo." Rhodey said.

Tony did. "They're the same date. So what?"

"Tony you're getting sloppy. One of these days, they're going to find out you're iron man." Rhodey said finally getting to the point. "They're already conspiring about it."

"I'm not seeing your point though."

"Really?" Rhodey deadpanned. "Okay fine, they see a pic of iron man and rescue kissing, for the first time. Then only hours later, they see Tony and Pepper kissing. For the first time. See the link? The public do."

"Oh…" Tony said. "Well, I'll just have to be more careful about it." Tony said.

"Yeah, you better be. Because once they find out who Iron man is, it would be easy to tell who Rescue and war machine are."

Tony nodded, understanding. He took the newspaper and left to his room to read the details of what the city is brewing up for him this time.

…

Tony and Rhodey lay side by side on the hill by Rhodey's house. Pepper laid on Tony's other side with her head on his stomach, holding his hand.

No one really said a word, none of them even knew why they were laying there. It was just someone following the leader and the other one followed them. They didn't really care who the leader was, they just followed each other.

It didn't even matter. They had each other and they knew that. They knew that if one wasn't paying attention, the others were. They knew if something happened to one of them, that the others would do whatever it took to save them.

Either way, they were family.

Either way, they weren't alone.

And now, Tony finally knew that.

**Well, that was an odd ending, and there was lots of cheesiness! ^.^ But i hope you guys liked this story! :) I'm finally finished! I'd say the fastest i've ever written a multichapter story!**

**Fun Fact: _Sometimes, when i feel completely alone or want a hug really bad, but can't because everyones always asleep when i need one, i hug my teddy bear, Mello...(psst! I sectretly sometimes talk to her... O.O) ..._**

**Now for some shout outs! (I'm thinking to start doing these again...you guys deserve more attention from me...i tend to focus on myself sometimes. (oh and I'm also doing shout outs to people who reviewed the other chapters, because well, not all of you guys are consistent with reviewing. Which i have no problem with that.**

**Haytar96: _thanks so much for reviewing as much as you did, it made me smile! :) You have awesome chapters too! :) And YAY Pepperony!_**

**_Roninarnia: Thanks for the reviews! I'm always glad to know you read my stories!_**

**_Finny-Kun Goddess: I'm glad to read your reviews! Thanks!_**

**_Keotey1228: I already said this to you, but THANKS for the reminder of what i messed up on! It was great help! THANKS!_**

**_Arista17: Thanks! I love writing suspense! Did i ever update Baby Genius since you asked? I can't remember...usually i'd do it right after you ask...but...well...THANKS!_**

**_PottsXStark: Thanks for the review(s?)!_****_ :) :D_**

**_iloveyou29: THANKS for the review! Glad to hear from someone i haven't seen around a lot! (not literally)_**

**_AND finally..._**

**_PercyJacksonLover14: THANK YOU for ALL your reviews! I LOVED reading them, honestly whenever i saw that you left a GIANT review...especially the first time, I almost had a heart attack! XD Literally too! My mom once asked my why i was smiling so much, because i couldn't stop smiling! THANKS A TON! ^.^_**

**Well, I'm off for now! Next I'm going to start working on the next chapter for Baby Phase, then update Not So Ordinary, or start this new request I've got! Heehee! Its a good one! I promise! :P Then, I'm going to tackle Sins of Insanity again.**


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